Renascentia
by PrancingTiger86
Summary: They believed the Allspark had been destroyed in Mission City, but little do they know that its powers will be reborn inside a new vessel; one none of them expected in the slightest. Contains slash, mpreg, violence, angst. ON HOLD!
1. Distraction

_**Title**: Renascentia (1/?)_

_**Rating**: For Mature themes. There be slash ahead between male characters._

_**Universe**: Post Movie 07_

_**Pairings**: Jazz x Prowl_

_**Warnings**: Potential violence, gore, slash and profanities. And now potential spoilers for Revenge of the Fallen. _

_This has been sitting on my laptop for a while so I decided to post it whether for good or for bad who knows. This fiction takes place a few years after the movie where new Autobots have landed and yes Jazz is back. I couldn't leave him dead now could I?_

It had been four years since the battle in Mission City and the destruction of the Allspark. And since then the surviving Autobots on Earth had located an ideal place in order to construct a base of operations, it had originally been an old military aircraft hangar up in the hills, which was now complete with additional subterranean levels and exit routes. The base itself was several miles outside the town of Tranquillity and was reachable by an old turn off point on the highway, of course the old road had been restored into working order since time and the elements had worn away the tarmac. The main gate to the complex had been completely restored and was once again patrolled and monitored by human military personnel, although on the occasion one of the Autobots would join them in order to keep civilians away from the now classified top secret base. They had also been joined by a group of five Autobots, just a little of three years ago, who had responded to Optimus Prime's message that had been sent several months prior; the team consisted of Prime's Second in command and tactician Prowl, Special Operations agent and spy Mirage, the two front-line warrior twins Sunstreaker and Sideswipe (much to Ratchet and Ironhide's disgruntlement), and Chief Engineer Wheeljack.

The growing group of highly intelligent and alien robots had settled in quite quickly into Earth's culture, but if there was one thing that grated on the nerves of the youngest members in particular; it would have to be the planet's unpredictable weather patterns. Although it was nothing new to them since they had visited thousands of worlds each with their own unique weather systems (although the visits had always been short), however with Earth now being their new permanent base of operations, it was one of those things they would have to learn to adapt too. The original five had already contented with the blistering heat of summer that had been hot enough to peel the paint off their armour and the cold temperatures of winter that threatened to freeze their joints and fluid lines. Of course now they were contending with the miserable downpours of spring a fourth year running that made patrol dismal and put leisurely activities such as going for a drive on hold.

It had been raining on and off for the past couple of weeks sometimes heavily, however the dark and miserable weather was paid no attention by one Autobot in particular; Prowl was sat in his office currently going over the day's reports. He slouched back in his chair and placed the data pad with Wheeljack's findings upon it down on the metal surface of the desk, there was only so much scientific jargon he could take in just one sitting. He stretched his arms above his head working out the kinks in his back and door wings before he reached for a different report this time. He skimmed through the first few lines and found it was covering the incident with the twins Sunstreaker and Sideswipe a couple of days ago. The devious duo had some how managed to sneak into the resident weapons specialist's quarters and deactivate the recoils on his cannons, so when the large black mech stepped into the firing range that day, he was spectacularly knocked back flat on his back from the concussive force of the blast from his twin cannons. The weapons specialist had caught the pair of miscreants not an hour later and delivered a painful bout of revenge before handing them over to Ratchet. The medic had nearly out right refused to repair the pair of them telling them that they deserved it pulling a stunt like that. But he fixed them none the less then happily sent them in Prowl's direction for punishment. The tactician had sentenced the pair to double shifts of communications duty since he knew the pair distinctly hated being bored, particularly for long periods of time listening to non-stop babble filtering through the communications hub.

He was drawn away from the data pad sat in his hands when he heard someone punch in the code to his office, he knew exactly who was about to enter his office when the other end of the bond he shared with Jazz opened up alerting him of his impending presence. He returned his attention to the pad when he heard the familiar light tread of his mate as he stepped through the doors. He didn't spare the Solstice a glance, but instead continued to read the report upon the incident involving the twins, but he could tell immediately that the saboteur was up to something that was about to disrupt his concentration.

"Yes Jazz?" He inquired still not looking up at the silver Solstice. He knew from past experiences that he would be leant against the wall next to the door frame, his arms folded across his chest wearing his trademark smirk that he always wore when in the usual mischievous mood that often led to other things beside work.

"You gonna sit there all night Prowler with those damn things?" The saboteur asked, the Dodge Charger inwardly cringed at the nickname the silver mech found fitting to call him, which unfortunately seemed to have stuck with and follow him to Earth despite his constant corrections that his designation was 'Prowl' not 'Prowler'.

"Well until I've managed to catch up with today's reports." He responded still not sparing a glance toward his mate who was on the move now, sauntering footsteps brought him up level with the desk that the white and black mech was currently sat behind. Suddenly and without warning Jazz snagged the data pad Prowl had been reading straight out of his hands and turned it to face him so he could see what was on it, the tactician sighed before glancing up at his mate only to have to look twice when he noticed that the saboteur's normally pristine silver armour was peppered with different colours "I would ask but I'm not sure if I'm going to like the answer." Jazz looked at him from behind the pad he had stolen to glance at his lover before following his gaze to the different colours splattered across his frame.

A smirk graced the silver mech's facial plates once again "Trainin'."

Prowl raised a single optic ridge at that as he attempted to reach for the report taken from him only for Jazz to step back a pace so he was clearly out of reach "Exactly what kind of training involves getting covered in paint?"

"Well its better than being shot at by blank ammo." Jazz responded as he continued to scan the contents of the report before a snort of amusement escaped him "ah remember that prank, no-one could take ole 'Hide seriously again not after watchin' him bein' put on his aft by the recoil of his beloved weapons."

Prowl got up from his chair and made his way round to his partner "Well I'm hoping that the twins have learned from that experience in that they leave our weapons specialist's cannons alone least they want to remain in one piece." He stepped up in front of Jazz, their frames nearly touching "now can I have that back?"

The saboteur met his gaze "Nope." The tactician cycled air through his vents before blowing it out in an imitation of a human sighing, he attempted to grab the pad from his mate only for Jazz to move it out of his reach. Prowl knew that all he had to do was stretch slightly and he could easily grasp the pad held high in the air above the silver mech.

"You're not going to give that back are you?" The white and black Dodge Charger inquired as he decided to make a reach for it only for the Solstice to shift it once again away from him.

"You've gotta be kiddin' me? I've got your attention now." Jazz replied with a smile, Prowl sighed again before moving closer and without any warning leant forward and captured his mate's lip components in a slow, sensual kiss. The saboteur was startled at first by the sudden move, but he responded readily as his partner deepened it to distract him further, the tactician easily reached around his mate's back and slipped his fingers into the back of his right hip seam and caressed the circuitry beneath which drew a fine tremor from his bonded. The data-pad the silver mech had been holding slipped from his fingertips and dropped onto the desk behind him with a loud clatter, but neither bot paid any attention to it. Prowl broke the kiss as gently as he had started it and smirked when he saw the somewhat dazed look upon his spark-mate's facial plates, he always loved it when Jazz was caught off by his spontaneous acts.

"Ya know that has gotta be one of th' most sneakiest thin's you've ever done ta me." The saboteur told him as he regained his senses, although it wasn't long before a moan escaped him when his lover slipped his fingers round to the small of his back and slid them in-between the silver plates.

"Hmm." The Dodge Charger simply hummed in response as he tried to ignore the small lazy circles his mate's clawed fingertips were drawing upon his upper back just above the joints for his door wings.

The saboteur allowed his forehead to gently fall against the golden crest that sat in the middle of his bonded's chevron as Prowl worked his fingers into armour seams to caress and massage delicate cables and tubing beneath his back plates, Jazz arched into his mate when the tactician traced a path up his spinal strut, only pausing once in a while to slide fingers under the silver armour. A breathy gasp escaped the saboteur's vocaliser as the black and white mech dipped his head and nipped at some of the exposed tubing in his mate's throat, he traced the same path with feather like kisses before he pulled away slightly, although Jazz could still feel the hot air from his intakes caress the delicate tubing of his neck "You are such a distraction much of the time."

"An' you wouldn't have me any other way." The Solstice inquired as he shifted his hands and smoothed them across shoulder plating, he worked his fingers into armour seams and teased the circuits beneath with a slight magnetic pulse, then trailed them over and down toward the more sensitive part of the tactician's anatomy. Prowl arched against him when clawed digits delved into the joints of his door wings and a moan escaped his vocaliser, he didn't even get the chance to recover when Jazz shifted his hands and moved them across the sensitive and delicate plating of his door wings, teasing them with a magnetic pulse that pulled on them slightly.

"I could think of a few things I would love to change about you, but then again your strange quirks are what make you, you." The tactician replied as he removed his hands from his lover's back and shifted them to hook under the saboteur's thighs, the black and white mech hoisted the silver bot up and onto the desk before he resumed his 'attack' on his lover's neck cables. Jazz canted his head backwards to give him further access, a low moan escaped him when the Dodge Charger found a particularly sensitive spot and indulged in it for a moment whilst he traced his fingertips up the Solstice's thighs, caressing armour seams as he did so. Jazz was never idle either as he too found sensitive armour seams and plating to caress, but his attention was quickly drawn back to his bonded's door wings since he knew they could reduce the tactician to a quivering submissive wreck. The saboteur heard a faint gasp escape Prowl's lip components that quickly turned into a moan when he changed the polarity of his magnetics and delved his clawed digits further into the tactician's door wing joints. Prowl decided, somewhere in his aroused fogged mind, that he needed to make his door wings harder to access least he want to overload before Jazz. He shifted forward and hooked one hand under the silver mech's right thigh and hoisted both himself and the saboteur up and effectively planting them on his desk lengthways with Jazz beneath him on his back, the saboteur pulled away from the kiss again when he realised he could no longer reach the tactician's back appendages.

"That ain't fair Prowler." He told his mate as he glanced up at him.

"I find it very fair." The tactician responded as he shifted the same thigh he had grasped earlier and settled it on his hip before running the tips of his fingers down armoured plating to hip seams where he followed pelvic seams up toward abdominal ones, this time it was the saboteur's turn to arch upwards as Prowl found the more sensitive ones and indulged in them for a little while getting his own back.

"Happy?" Jazz asked, his voice dropping a couple of octaves making it sound deeper.

"Very much so." Prowl responded with a smirk as he moved the hand he had been caressing armour seams with and smoothed it against Jazz's right cheek, he then allowed them to trail across to the sensitive audio receptors that were apart of the long silver fins on either side of his helm. He followed the trail of hieroglyphs on the right one, the ones that spoke of rank and position and the Solstice whimpered at the contact. The silver mech moved his right hand and trailed clawed fingers across the edges of the tactician's helm tracing out the hieroglyphs that also marked the white and black Dodge Charger's. Prowl moved this time capturing his bond-mates lip components in a kiss that alternated between single, long-lasting kisses to shorter, repeated ones. Then every once in a while they engaged one another in a lengthened kiss. They continued to trace armour seams with caresses that wrought moans or gasps from each other as they worked one another toward their own overload.

Prowl slipped his hand around to the small of Jazz's back and wriggled fingers in-between armoured plating to tease the delicate cables and wires saboteur arched up against him exposing neck cables that he more than happily nibbled on, whilst the silver Solstice found that he was able to finally touch the sensitive plating of Prowl's door wings as they fell into relaxed positions. The tactician groaned into his mate's neck and ceased his administrations as Jazz tortured him with those Primus forsaken magnetic capabilities of his again, and the only way he could retaliate was through finding the most sensitive armour seams he could think of on his mate to draw him away from his door wings. Suddenly there was a soft hiss and the silver mech's chest armour split open and parted exposing the soft blue light of his spark as he teetered on the edge before taking the plunge into overload, Prowl's own chest armour parted in response and instinct kicked in as the pair wrapped their arms about one another pulling each other close enough to allow their sparks to meet.

Jazz's claws dug almost painfully into the tactician's armour as emotions, thoughts and feelings passed between the pair, he faintly heard Prowl cry out although it was muffled slightly since his head was tucked into the side of his neck. The pair of them hit their climax at the same time, the energy from their overloads cascaded through their frames starting at their sparks and stretching down each of their limbs, the sensations doubling through their bond that had them overloading a second time. Finally their systems were able to catch up with them as the tendrils of static and excess energy bled from their frames and dissipated into the air around them, both of their cooling systems began calming and pneumatics ceased hissing at even the smallest of movements they made. Neither of them trusted themselves to move from their either of their positions, but move Prowl did if only to lift himself off his mate and sit on the edge of the desk.

"Well I'm content unless ya fancy goin' another round?" Jazz asked with a smirk as he pushed himself up onto his elbows and drew his legs up so they were bent at the knees, the pose seemed rather inviting to Prowl but he restrained himself.

"As much as that sounds appealing I'll pass for now." Prowl responded as he observed his mate "now may I return back to my work?" The Solstice smiled as he shifted his arms so he could lay down upon his back fully again with his clawed hands resting upon his abdominal components tapping out a random tune, the tactician raised a single optic ridge at him.

"I'm thinkin' about it." The Solstice told him as he kept his gaze focused upon the bare grey ceiling, he refused to move from his position for the time being as his systems were still taking their sweet time trying to orient themselves and rather than roll off the desk and perform a spectacular face plant Jazz remained where he was, although the saboteur could tell his mate was anxious to get back to his work least someone step through the door and find him still sprawled across Prowl's desk. A particular area of armour that was still coated in a splodge of paint was beginning to itch now and he reached round to scratch it, the action immediately caught the attention of the tactician and he none too gently pushed his bond-mate off the desk when he saw flakes of paint fall onto the usual pristine surface of the table. The Solstice flailed as he tried to grab a hold of something but silver claws couldn't find anything to grasp hold of and he landed with a loud thud of metal meeting concrete, Prowl leant forward over his desk and smirked at his partner who was giving him a glare in return "a little warning would have been appreciated."

"Well maybe you'll remember next time to visit the wash rack first before gracing me and my office with your paint soiled presence." Prowl told him with a smirk, Jazz pushed himself up onto his feet and continued to glare at his mate before it disappeared into a smirk.

"You owe me fer that now." The saboteur responded. The tactician barely had the chance to open his mouth plates in order to protest when the Solstice stepped round the desk grabbed one of his arms and pulled him out of his office and toward the wash racks with a promise sent across their bond that the Dodge Charger would find it incredibly hard to process anything for the rest of the afternoon. Prowl allowed his spark-mate to drag him through the inter-connecting corridors to their quarters, he knew better than to argue with Jazz once the saboteur had his processor set on something. That and he really didn't the Solstice would be able to reach that certain yellow smudge upon the right side of his aft. The tactician couldn't help the small smile that made its way onto his lip components as he felt a tingle across his circuits at the thought of another encounter like the one he just had with his bonded in his office, occurring again in their wash rack as he knew Jazz was never just satisfied with one round of interfacing. Speaking of which there was currently a silver clawed hand ghosting over the edge of a lower door-wing, Prowl shut off his vocaliser to prevent the small groan that threatened to escape him, after all they were still metres away from their quarters and there were rules and regulations regarding behavioural conduct in the hallway; not that Jazz ever played by the rules.

"Jazz continue what you're doing and I will take you in the hallway." Prowl growled at the saboteur as he turned and snatched the Solstice's clawed hand away from his back plates.

The silver mech smirked as he moved in closer "Well we've already made some questionable noises in your office, an' I didn't know ya were inta exhibitionism Prowler especially in front of th' humans." The tactician glanced down to see a couple of humans giving them strange looks before the pair of them quickened their pace and gave the two Cybertronians a wide berth, the Dodge Charger couldn't help but feel slightly mortified at the situation he had just inadvertently landed himself in. Prowl heard a snicker of amusement from his spark-mate and more than happily tossed a light glare at Jazz.

"This is your fault, you and your incessant need for tactile contact." The tactician growled at his bonded.

The saboteur snorted in amusement "Why don't cha just say 'in need of a good frag', besides if I didn't distract ya every now and again, you'd rust in that office of yours."

"Hardly." The Dodge Charger grumbled as he trudged after his spark-mate.

The Solstice flashed a smile over his shoulder as he regarded his somewhat grumpy bond-mate "It'll all change one day Prowler, it'll all change."

_Reviews would be nice, please don't flame me_


	2. Unexpected News

_**Disclaimer**: Transformers belongs to its associated appropriates and not me._

_**Warnings: **use of profanities, mention of Mpreg_

_'Blah' – thoughts_

_::Blah:: - Radio Communication_

_:/blah\: - Inter. comm._

_::/Blah\\:: Bond communication_

"_Blah" - Inter-dimmensional speech_

It was one of those days that Ratchet wished he hadn't been on duty that morning. He had already dealt with the twins after they decided to stage a fight in the recreation room over the remote control for the large flat television screen that was in there … once again. It was becoming a regular thing with those two. Then Ironhide had come to him complaining that there was a glitch in his weapons system and wanted it seeing too immediately as he had plans to head on down to the firing range to blow the pit out of the targets. He was suddenly glad that Wheeljack hadn't blown up anything in his lab just yet or he'd have to resign his post. The pale yellow medic vented a sigh and took a sip of the warm energon from the mug that had been sat upon his desk whilst he scrutinised the medical notes from the most recent quarterly physicals. Ones a certain special ops officer and bearer of the matrix refused to attend, the former always made himself scarce so no-one could locate him whilst the latter proclaimed that he had important things to attend too. But with enough threats and cajoling the same pair would eventually show up for their physical exams and as usual this time round, both Jazz and Optimus had found better things to do then report to Ratchet.

So he was currently left to read the notes regarding those of a certain gold twin who had an extensive record of injuries that were either battle related or through acts of stupidity or anger. Ratchet knew from the length of time that he had known the twins that Sunstreaker had always been the quieter, less sociable of the pair unless someone ruined his paint job then he didn't shut up complaining. Whilst Sideswipe on the other hand, had always been the much louder one with the red pit spawn's mischievous antics regularly landing him in trouble with the officers and then subsequently in the brig. As much good as that did him, Sideswipe simply bounced back with an even better prank than his previous ones. The red Lamborghini's favourite victims had always been Ironhide, Red Alert, Ratchet himself and even on the occasion Prowl because he knew how sensitive the tactician's logic centre was which would freeze regularly if he found himself stuck in one of Sideswipe's illogical situations.

The CMO was drawn away from the data-pad containing the gold twins recent exam when he heard the doors to the med-bay whoosh open and hoped that it was neither the twins or one of their usual victims stepping into his domain. He heard a light tread in the footsteps as they approached his office that was only associated with two Autobots he knew of, although the slight limp in the usual steady gait sounded out who it was exactly. He pushed himself out of his chair and upright before making his way toward the doorway that would lead him into the main area of the repair bay, his optical sensors instantly settled upon the small, sleek silver form of the only resident Solstice as he limped toward him. The injury Jazz had sustained which was causing him to limp was several torn muscle cables in the saboteur's knee and thigh that had come from an intense sparring session with Mirage a few days ago, the session had landed the pair of them in the repair bay with dented armour plating and a couple of strain injuries. Ratchet had grilled the pair of them over their stupidity, but knew that neither would listen since the only way they could keep their senses honed like the way they did was by engaging in dangerous simulations and sparring sessions that he didn't approve of.

"What do I owe of this pleasure? And will I be expecting anyone else dropping by?" He asked catching the saboteur's attention. Finally one of the bots he had been hunting after had made his appearance in his med-bay except this time he had come on his own terms, unlike last time where Ironhide had bodily carried the silver Solstice into the Hummer's domain resulting in a few dented armour plates and wounded prides.

Jazz smiled at the medic's questioning but it faded as quickly as it appeared which Ratchet found was a rarity in the silver bot "It's just me today Ratch an' I need ta talk ta ya."

"Very well, over onto that berth since whilst you're here I might as well take a look and see how those injuries of yours is healing." The CMO said and the saboteur nodded, Ratchet watched as the silver mech limped his way across to one of the berths and perched on the edge of it before heading over to the side where he kept his tools stored, then he stepped back in the direction of the special ops officer with portable scanner now in hand. Jazz shifted himself so he could swing his left leg up onto the berth although he grimaced as he did so when pain spiked in the healing joint and leg, the medic ran the scanner he had in hand over the injury then tapped upon the small screen when it brought up the results "it's healing nicely considering I told you to keep your weight off it for one full week." The Solstice appeared slightly sheepish when he said that and he knew immediately that the saboteur had not followed through with his instructions "so what was it exactly that you wanted to talk to me about?"

"I need ya ta run a full system scan on me doc, somethin's not quite right." Jazz replied as he rested a clawed hand upon his armoured chest plating when the discomfort he had been experiencing the past few days started to make its return.

Ratchet frowned as he glanced at the saboteur "How exactly?"

"I'm not sure." Jazz began "but just lately I've been more tired an' Prowl would tell ya irritable although I haven't noticed that change." Although Ratchet would say differently, the medic had been hearing from the others that the silver Solstice was behaving differently but never got the chance to run a full systems scan upon him when he last had him in his clutches "an' ma spark's been achin' like its been stretched, especially more so today."

"When did these symptoms start?" The medic inquired as he began running the portable scanner over the lithe frame of the special ops officer, he knew there couldn't be much wrong with the silver mech as nothing showed up on his last scan a few weeks ago. But he decided to check over the results again once he had kicked the saboteur out of his med-bay and onto the light duty that he must have been shirking to be there.

"A few days ago at the very least." He replied then he noticed the look Ratchet was giving him, the very one that told him that he should have reported to the medic sooner to find out what was wrong with him "but they've been on an' off."

The medic disguised as a search and rescue Hummer scowled at him for a moment longer unhappy about Jazz leaving it so long especially if he had caught a virus or something just as serious before turning his attention to the scanner in his hand "Well let's see what we've got." He tapped a few keys upon the screen of the scanner to bring up the results which instantly revealed an echo in the saboteur's spark pulse, concerned he zoomed to get a better look at the silver mech's spark casing upon the screen and nearly dropped the scanner when he saw what was causing the faint echo.

"Ratch?" The special ops officer dared to venture when he saw the medic's expression.

"Well I know why you've been more tired recently not to mention irritable which is only one of the many symptoms you'll be experiencing from now on." The CMO responded as he caught the silver mech's gaze, Jazz managed to look both confused and concerned at the same time "when was the last time you and Prowl spark merged Jazz?"

The saboteur opened his mouth plates intending to reply before promptly shutting them again "It's been a couple of weeks but I don't understand what this has got ta do wit' it."

"Everything as I need to determine how far into the gestation cycle you are." Ratchet responded, Jazz simply stared at him trying to process the information divulged to him.

"I don't . . . are ya sure?" The special ops officer asked struggling to find the words to say with disbelief evident in the tone of his voice, the medic transmitted the data to the monitor behind the saboteur which revealed to the silver Solstice his own pulsing spark that was nurturing a much smaller one off to the side of it, both connected by long thin silver threads of energy "I'm in some deep slag ain't I Ratch?"

"Depends on how your bond-mate and Optimus will take to this news." The CMO responded as he watched the saboteur deflate at the thought of having to tell both of his commanding officers since he was now a liability. The medic could sense the one thing he had not seen in the silver mech for a long time; a deep and unparalleled fear "I'm gonna have to call them down Jazz and tell them."

The Solstice nodded although his demeanour quickly changed as the sudden overwhelming stress became too much for his systems to handle "Urgh frag." Jazz cursed as he curled in on himself slightly when his fuel tanks suddenly gave an unsettled churn before the sudden need to purge hit him. Luckily enough Ratchet recognised the signs immediately and shoved a waste receptacle under him just as the saboteur pulled himself up a little straighter before dry heaving once followed by the sickening splatter of liquid hitting the bottom of the receptacle on the second heave.

"Easy." The CMO uttered to him as he rubbed the 3IC's back plates as he continued to retch until Jazz finally collapsed on his side, the saboteur whined and pressed his facial plates into the soft padding of the berth. The medic removed the waste receptacle before making his way over to one of his storage cabinets, he made his way back with an injection pen and a vial of sickly looking green liquid in his hands "here I've got something to help with the nausea." He loaded the vial into the pen before locating the main fuel line in the saboteur's neck and swiftly injecting it. Ratchet heard Jazz vent a sigh of relief a few moments later before an azure visor glanced at him.

"Thanks doc." The saboteur croaked as he slowly unfurled his limbs "well this is slag-fraggin'-tastic."

"Jazz I know you must be scared right now, think I would be given the circumstances but I'll get you through this." Ratchet told him as he gripped one of the 3IC's forearms in a reassuring squeeze when he noticed how quickly Jazz was falling into despair.

"I know ya will doc." The saboteur replied as his gaze remained fixed upon the soft padding of the berth, his processor a whirl of so many possibilities at that moment in time. He vented a deep sigh out of his intakes before he settled his gaze upon the medic "but right now I'm not sure how I should feel about all this."

"Its understandable if you want to feel angry or scared, even overjoyed even if you didn't expect this to happen." The chartreuse mech told him "and as unexpected as this was, now's a good time as any for a sparkling to be born since we've not heard anything from the Decepticons."

"I know I just ..." The saboteur began before he swallowed thickly as he contemplated his next words carefully "Ratch what if ... what if I don't want this sparklin'? Not that I don't want it, but what Prowl doesn't want ta commit or he wants me ta get rid of it."

Ratchet turned to face the silver mech fully "Then that will be your decision to make Jazz, but even if that two bit sparkless fragger doesn't want to get involved even though he's your bonded, its your decision alone not his and either way I'll be with you every step of the way."

"I know, its just that ... I know him all too well an' I know th' last thin' he would want would be a sparklin' ..." Jazz began as he dug his clawed fingertips into the gel surface of the berth.

The CMO quickly cut him off "I think you underestimate Prowl, he may just surprise you." The saboteur didn't look all that convinced "let me talk to them and we'll decide from there on what to do next alright." The Solstice nodded stiffly, Ratchet gripped his right forearm in reassurance before he stepped away calling for Optimus and Prowl to head down to the med-bay at their earliest convenience.

Jazz sat on the berth he had taken residence up on with fuel pump beating wildly in his chest whilst clawed hands clutched onto the side of the berth, he drew in a shaky breath in order to calm himself but it did all of nothing. He couldn't help but allow different scenarios of how this situation was going to play out run rampant through his processor, he wasn't sure how Prowl was going to take the news that they had sparked a new life. Jazz knew the thought of having a sparkling was going to cause some problems especially since being the best in his profession, he was turned to most of the time when a mission that seemed impossible came up. Not to mention that both his and Prowl's positions simply could not afford a distraction like an infant. However there was a rather large 'but' beginning to form in his line of thinking. A sparkling would fulfil them as a bonded couple since most of their daily life revolved around work and wondering when Starscream would return to the planet with reinforcements. Not to mention that with the Allspark was gone, a sparkling created through the union of two sparks was something that was to be treasured. There was also the thought of terminating a young life before it even had the chance to experience life and that was something the Solstice knew he would never be able to bring himself to do, and if Prowl disagreed with him on this, he could go smelt in an acid pit as far as he was concerned. Jazz recoiled at that thought since he loved his bond-mate dearly and would never do anything to harm him physically or mentally. He was brought out of his line of thoughts when he heard the med-bay doors whoosh open moments later and glanced across to see both Optimus and Prowl step into the room, immediately both of their gazes were on him and he shrank into himself, he saw his bond-mate's door wings rise ever so slightly in concern before his private comm. link opened up.

_:/Jazz?\__: _The Dodge Charger inquired.

_:/Ratch is gonna explain things to ya.\:_ The saboteur responded as he watched the Hummer approach Prime and Prowl, Optimus managed to look both concerned and curious at the same time as he glanced from Jazz to Ratchet _:/just what ever happens, know that I never meant for this to happen love.\:_ His bond-mate frowned at those words just before he was ushered into the medic's office, Ratchet shot him a parting look that told him everything was going to be alright before stepping in behind Prowl and Optimus and shutting the door leaving the Solstice alone to his thoughts.

The CMO could tell Jazz was scared of what the outcome was going to be as he shot him a parting look before stepping into his office, he moved around both Optimus and Prowl before sitting himself in his seat behind the desk then turned to the pair "I suggest you sit down for this one." He told them, Optimus immediately obliged whilst Prowl seemed a bit more hesitant "you too Prowl, I don't particularly want to be picking your aft off the floor if your logic chips decide to take a leave of absence on us." That earned him a look of surprise from the pair of them and the tactician sat down in the seat next to his commanding officer.

"What's this all about Ratchet?" Optimus inquired "is Jazz alright?"

"He's fine." The medic replied "in fact more than fine." Prowl glanced at Prime then turned his gaze on the medic with a frown upon his facial plates, he couldn't understand why then if Jazz was perfectly fine why he was still being held in the med-bay.

"Then if that is the case why are you still holding him here?" Prowl asked as he flared his door wings.

Ratchet turned to him "Because I need to run a few more scans on him especially with his new condition." That earned him completely bewildered looks and Prowl wondered if this was linked to what his mate had told him just before he left "Jazz is with new spark." All of the tactician's thought processes came to a grinding halt at that and his head begin to ache with the tell tale signs of his logic chips seizing up on him. Ratchet saw the way Prowl suddenly froze and snapped "don't you dare, Jazz doesn't need you freezing on him." The white and black mech managed to pull himself out of the haze that was the beginning of his processor shutting down on him but the ache was still there.

Optimus was still completely flabbergasted by the news regarding his chief of special ops "Ratchet are you sure?"

"Absolutely and from what I can discern from the initial scan I took, the sparklet is a couple of weeks old at best." The CMO responded as he watched Prowl closely, it looked as though he was still having trouble comprehending that his bond-mate was carrying a sparkling that they had created. They all knew that creating a sparkling through spark merging was an old practise that occurred before the war and was even rare back then, so it came of a surprise to find that Jazz had managed to conceive naturally.

"Are there any initial dangers to Jazz?" Optimus inquired. The very thought of a new Cybertronian life being brought into the world raised his spirits after bearing the burden from the loss of the Allspark, although technically it was not lost but it had certainly lost its usefulness like it had before. The remaining shard had been implanted in the saboteur's empty spark chamber and had revived the once lifeless shell. However there was the concern that Jazz's position as head of special ops had now become compromised, but Mirage was more than capable of performing the saboteur's field duties if and when need be. That and there had been no discernible Decepticon activity for the past four Earth years since the battle in Mission City, although they knew Barricade was still lurking around somewhere, but hadn't been able to get a fix on him despite their numerous sensor sweeps of Tranquillity and the surrounding areas.

"No more than what usually occurs during the gestation cycle although a close optic will have to be kept on him." The CMO replied. he knew he was going to have to brush up on his knowledge as it had been a very long time since he last delivered a sparkling.

"That's if the gestation cycle is allowed to continue." Prowl finally spoke up and both Ratchet and Optimus glanced at him with concerned looks upon their facial plates "Jazz and I are second and third in command, we simply cannot be distracted with raising a sparkling."

"You'll have to discuss this with Jazz before you start making any decisions that one or both of you don't agree with." Prime said to his first lieutenant "were we in the height of war I would have no choice but to advise Jazz that the sparkling would have to be terminated as we would not be able to spare him." The very thought of destroying a new life was enough to make the semi Peter-built feel sick to his tanks, a new life was to be cherished, not destroyed before it could experience life fully "speaking of which what would happen if the infant was aborted?" He turned this question on Ratchet who was sat back in his seat, a small part of the Prime hated having to ask the question but one he could not avoid.

"He would feel the loss as acute as if he lost a bond-mate." The CMO began "if the infant was aborted naturally, his own spark would simply absorb the energy but in the way we're talking of, the procedure alone is dangerous not to mention it could kill him by destabilising his spark."

"I see." Prowl said, he knew that it was nigh impossible for him and his bond-mate to even contemplate raising a sparkling when both of their positions were highly demanding, his logic centre and battle computer continued to bombard his processor with reasons why he should tell Jazz that the infant should be terminated. He also had to contemplate the consequences should it fall into Decepticon hands as it could quite easily be used as leverage against them. But he also knew that there was a risk that came along with the termination of the sparkling, he could very well lose his bond-mate in the process or afterwards which was an option he didn't want to contemplate. However deep down there was a small part of him that truly wanted this sparkling that had been created through the union of both his and the saboteur's sparks, the Charger argued against his logic centre and battle computer that maybe they might be able to raise this infant with no problem despite the odds given to him. After all Bumblebee had been raised during the height of war back on Cybertron, although the scout had never been in short supply regarding caretakers. But here on Earth there was so few of them and they couldn't possibly think to spare anyone to watch over a sparkling unless more of their comrades appeared in the near future.

"I suggest you go and speak with Jazz, I'm sure he is more than anxious to hear your decision." Prime told him. The tactician looked hesitant at first but then nodded and pushed himself up out of the chair, he headed toward the doors and out into the main medical bay. Both Optimus and Ratchet watched him leave before the CMO turned to regard his superior officer and good friend.

"Do you think this is wise?" He inquired after a couple of minutes.

Optimus glanced across to him as he sat back in his own seat "I trust them, I know they'll perform to the best of their abilities regardless, besides I believe they deserve a small measure of peace and hope in this seemingly never ending war."

Ratchet smiled "You know its going to be double the chaos with this sparkling as no doubt it will inherit at least one of their stubborn streaks not to mention temper."

"I am aware." Prime replied as he stood up "but I think it's good exercise for the 'bots, keeps them on their feet and out of trouble." Ratchet simply smiled at that, it was true. Caring for Bumblebee during the war back on Cybertron had kept the more juvenile of the Autobots, aka the twins, out of trouble when looking after him.

"How do you want to go about explaining this to the humans?" The CMO inquired "most of them could barely wrap their heads around spark bonds, and now that Prowl and Jazz have opened up a new can of turbo-worms with their recklessness..."

The semi Peter-built vented a small sigh, although he couldn't help but snort in amusement afterwards at Ratchet's comment about his two Lieutenants. Prowl and Jazz had a flair for doing the impossible and proving everyone wrong "With the utmost caution, sparkling creation is a delicate subject."

"Well it looks like I've got a lecture to plan, but first I think we ought to make sure they haven't maimed each other out there." Ratchet said jokingly as he also got up from his seat and marched across to the door and opened it. They found the pair of them seated upon the same berth together, seemingly motionless. But from the smallest hints of body language spoke that they were simply communicating over their private comm. link instead since talking through their bond seemed to be out of the question. Both the Dodge Charger and the Solstice registered the Semi Truck and the Hummer making their way across to them, they glanced at them until the saboteur turned his attention back toward his mate and nodded. The tactician shifted his gaze from the saboteur to both Optimus and Ratchet.

"We have reached a conclusion." He told them before he spared another glance with Jazz who was now clutching both of his hands "we wish to keep the sparkling." A small smile suddenly twitched the corners of their commander's lip components at the news, Prime had been hoping deep down that Jazz would be able to convince his bond-mate to keep the last possible infant Cybertronian.

"Very well then." Prime said as he pulled himself up to his full towering height as he addressed the pair of them "you have my congratulations." Both Jazz and Prowl glanced at one another completely bewildered over the fact their superior officer was allowing the gestation cycle to continue.

"Thank you sir." The both of them replied.

"Now I suggest the pair of you return to duty unless Ratchet requires you any longer." Optimus told them as he glanced at the medic when he spoke the last of the sentence.

"No they're both free to go although Jazz I would like to see you back in here in a few days time." Ratchet responded, both officers nodded and slipped off the berth before they headed out of the med-bay together. The CMO turned to the large build of the Semi Peter-built noticing the faintest of smiles upon his lip components "well things are certainly going to get interesting around here."

Optimus smiled fully at that "Yes they most certainly will." Prime finally took his leave and stepped toward the doors and palmed the keypad upon the wall next to the doors. They whooshed open in time to see a red blur better know as Sideswipe shoot past with a rather ticked off neon green? Sunstreaker upon his tail. Optimus vented a heavy sigh and stepped out into the corridor. He began walking in the direction the twins had taken off in, thanking Primus that they weren't heading toward the recreation room where there might be humans lurking about. Yes a sparkling and the rules that would be imposed with it would definitely curb the extracurricular activities of the two Lamborghinis. Speaking of the aforementioned, he could hear them fighting just around the next corner and knew that it would be best to separate them now before either one of them landed the other in the med-bay and Ratchet's 'good' graces.

"Come on Sunny you know it was just a practical joke." Sideswipe said as he tried to grab a hold of his twin's fists in order to prevent them from scoring hits that would do more than scuff his paint.

"You glitch, you know how much I hate anyone fraggin' messin' with my paint job." Sunstreaker bit back as he kept his brother's bulk pinned beneath him. Optimus shook his head and decided to intervene, he roughly grabbed one of the delicate fins on the side of the gold twin's helm and yanked him up and away from his brother before grabbing one of Sideswipe's helm horns. Both yelped in indignation at being manhandled then proceed to vocalise just how painful the simple grapple hold was. Prime had seen Ratchet and Ironhide on many occasions grab one of Jazz's sensitive helm horns in order to subdue the saboteur, it worked spectacularly despite his misgivings that his medic and weapons specialist shouldn't really grab the sensitive appendages, and now he was implementing the same method to the twins.

"Ow, ow, ow Optimus." Sideswipe whined like a youngling as he attempted to free himself whilst Sunstreaker had long stopped struggling only to level a dark glare that could kill had it been possible at his leader.

"Care to explain to me what is going on besides the glaringly obvious?" Optimus inquired. Sunstreaker swiped his left leg round effectively kicking his twin in the shin guard when Sideswipe refused to utter a word about the prank that he had been hoping to pull on Ironhide rather than his brother.

"Ow what the frag was that for?" Sideswipe proclaimed loudly as he glared at his twin.

"This is your line idiot." The gold Lamborghini snapped back.

"Well?" Optimus rumbled.

Sideswipe shrank under the gaze levelled at him, he opened his mouth plates ready to buy his way out of this situation, but instead decided to play ignorant of the fact that his twin was coloured a sickeningly neon green colour "Someone seems to have siphoned the water out of the pipes in the wash racks and replaced it with neon green paint."

"I wonder who that someone could be." Sunstreaker growled.

"Alright Sunstreaker report to Wheeljack and inform him of the situation then you are to report back to me, is that understood?" Prime ordered.

The gold front-liner glanced up at his leader, clearly mortified about that idea "Are you slaggin' kiddin' me? It's bad enough slag for brains over there has already fragged up my paintwork, and now you're asking me to go to Wheeljack? Make him go."

"Sunstreaker." The semi Peter-built rumbled in warning.

"Fine I'll do it, but if my paint gets slagged any more than it already is, there's gonna be hell to pay." The gold Lamborghini pointed the last of that sentence toward his brother who simply looked at him indifferently, after all Sideswipe was use to his twin's surliness when it came to his paintwork. The large red and blue mech released Sunstreaker from his grip and watched as the gold (although now currently bright neon green) front-liner disappeared down the hallway in a sulk.

Optimus glanced down at Sideswipe who smiled up at him with a sheepish grin "You and I are going to have a nice long talk." If the red Lamborghini had been capable of gulping he would have done so as he was tugged toward the Autobot Commander's office by his helm horn. He knew he was in for the Primus of all lectures regarding the health and safety of his fellow Autobots not to mention the potential hazard to the humans. The Autobot commander palmed the key pad on the side of the doors and they whooshed open, he stepped inside and pushed Sideswipe toward one of the chairs near to the doors whilst he stepped round his desk and sat down. Prime picked up one of the data-pads and skimmed its contents "take a seat Sideswipe, we'll wait for your twin to appear so I don't have to repeat my lecture twice."

The red Lamborghini drew one of the chairs out and sat in it heavily, had it been Prowl about to deliver the usual lecture Sideswipe would have already been trying to plead that he was innocent contrary to belief and evidence that he was a hundred percent guilty of the crime he had just committed. A few minutes cycled by before Sunstreaker appeared in Prime's office, he sat down heavily and sulkily in the other seat completely ignoring his twin. Optimus placed the data-pad he had been skimming through down upon the polished surface of the desk before settling a stern gaze upon the two Lamborghinis.

"It appears that the rules and protocols regarding extracurricular activities in the base seems to have been ignored by the pair of you." Optimus began as he sat forward "I have stressed numerous times before that infighting and pranks that could harm the humans are not acceptable." Sideswipe shrank slightly in his seat whilst Sunstreaker remained indifferent "the irresponsibility displayed by the pair of you could have put the humans lives at risk and therefore for the next three days the both of you will be assigned additional communications duty on top of Prowl's original punishment for your behaviour this morning." Sunstreaker's indifferent look turned to one of horror then quickly dissolved into righteous anger at those words, Sideswipe immediately contemplated which was probably the quickest way of off-lining himself as he knew his twin was going to give him hell once they had left their leader's office.

"Yes sir." Both of them replied.

"I cannot stress what the implications might have been had one of our human allies been in the wrong place at the wrong time." Optimus said as he steepled his fingers whilst he scrutinised both twins "the pair of you will report for your assigned punishment at oh seven hundred hours tomorrow morning." The two Lamborghinis uttered unintelligible responses. Prime knew that the kicked turbo puppy looks the twins were wearing was just a façade, the semi Peter-built had known them long enough to know that Sunstreaker without a doubt was probably contemplating about forgetting the protocols in place altogether and throttle his twin there and then. Sideswipe on the other servo was too predictable and no doubt contemplating how he could perfect his future pranks "you're both dismissed."

The two Lamborghinis nodded and murmured a 'yes sir' before they got up from their seats and headed toward the door, Optimus watched as the pair of them left and just before the doors slid shut he heard the distinct sound of Ironhide hollering for the red Lamborghini's head to be brought to him on a pike. The doors cycled shut but not before Prime saw Sideswipe transform into his alt. mode and peel down the corridor, Optimus sat back in his seat and vented a deep sigh out of his intakes; it seemed bringing the twins under control before the sparkling arrived in the world was certainly going to be an arduous task no matter how he looked at it. The Prime resisted the urge of letting his helm drop to hit his desk before he wearily pushed himself up out of his seat, he made his way across the room then stepped out of his office. There were just some days that he felt he was the leader of dysfunctional younglings rather than an army as he trailed after his weapons specialist and the problematic red Lamborghini

_Read & Review_


	3. Informing the family

_Once again I want to thank those who reviewed and added my story to their alert list. Apologies in advance for any spelling or grammatical errors, I tried combing through it as much as I could to dwindle them out. _

_**Disclaimer**: Transformers belongs to its associated appropriates and not me._

_**Warnings**: Use of Profanities, and potential spoilers for ROTF, mention of Mpreg_

_'Blah' – thoughts_

_::Blah:: - Radio Communication_

_:/blah\: - Inter. comm._

_::/Blah\\:: Bond communication_

"_Blah" - Inter-dimmensional speech_

Nearly four years ago Sam would never had believed that aliens could come in a form of a highly intelligent robots let alone that they could transform into a vehicle of their choice comparative to their mass. There was still so much to learn about the Cybertronians even after four years of working and living alongside them, such as their behaviour toward certain subjects, being able to detect hints of body language, although he had certainly learnt that when he saw both Prowl's and Bumblebee's door wings rise to form a 'V', it immediately told him that they were either angry, distressed or really irritated about something or someone. Then there was their complex physiology but Sam felt that topic was best suited for Mikaela since she was much more mechanically minded than him, although he was trying his best to learn as much as he possibly could. He had also discovered three years ago when the new group had arrived that the Cybertronians could form partnerships very much like marriage in human terms, and it didn't matter what gender, faction or age the partner was either since their species wasn't restricted by morals like theirs were. Sam had struggled to come to terms at the time over the fact Prowl and Jazz were bond-mates simply because they were an odd match, but according to the others the pair of them balanced each others strengths and weaknesses making them a force to be reckoned with when they put their helms together. And now it was almost natural to see them with each other and he could see why they fitted so perfectly together.

But recently the pair hadn't been getting on well and no-one knew or understood why, although much of the hostility was coming from Jazz and not those he was having a go at, and despite Ratchet's best attempts to get the saboteur under the scanner, the Solstice conveniently made himself scarce every time. However there had been rumours whispered between the servicewomen regarding the saboteur's behaviour as of late, and even his own mother (when she visited the base) and his girlfriend were being elusive about their thoughts on the topic. So when Sam entered the area that had been designated as the recreation room with Mikaela not far behind him and he heard raised voices, he half expected to walk into the path of Jazz and the instigator who had riled him up. Instead the two young adults overheard Sideswipe ranting about something whilst his brother simply snarled at him to shut up before he pummelled him.

"But how can you be so calm about all this? It's practically the end of the world as we know it." Sideswipe snapped at his twin as he paced back and forth in front of the Cybertronian sized couch, it had been positioned in front of the largest screen that the room could easily accommodate, and they could get their hands on. Both Sam and Mikaela stepped past them to the corner of the room where the more suitable human sized furniture was located.

"Don't be such a sparkling, its not like its the end of the world." Sunstreaker told his brother as Sam and Mikaela approached Major William Lennox who was sat in one of the human sized couch, bent over some reports that were laid out upon the coffee table in front of him.

"But we won't have free reign over the base any more." The red Lamborghini whined as he glanced at his brother with a rather pathetic look on his face "they're gonna clamp down on us with an iron fist."

"What's up with those two?" Sam asked as he jabbed a thumb over his shoulder, Lennox glanced up from his paperwork and in the direction of the twin misfits.

"I take it you haven't heard yet then?" Will inquired as he put his pen down and sat back in the chair he was in as he glanced at Sam and Mikaela.

"Heard what?" Both young adults asked together, the pair of them held confused expressions upon their faces as they glanced at one another then looked back at Lennox.

"The reason for tweedle dumb and tweedle dee's rant over there is because Jazz and Prowl are expecting." Lennox responded, the pair of them managed to look even more confused although Sam did more than Mikaela.

"Expecting?" Sam inquired first, Mikaela nudged him in the ribs "what?" He turned to face his girlfriend "its not like our giant, metal alien friends can fall pregnant or anything."

"Actually you'll be eating those words with what I'm about to tell you Sam." Lennox replied.

"What?" The pair of them asked as they turned to face the Army ranger again.

"Jazz is in fact to borrow our human term 'pregnant', I found out from Ironhide this morning after he had finished grilling the pair over their stupidity." Lennox began, Sam looked at him completely bewildered by that whilst Mikaela tried to hide a small knowing smile "it's strange knowing that these guys can reproduce without the aid of the Allspark or female robots." The army ranger had spent that morning with the weapons specialist talking about the Cybertronian infant after he heard about its existence, the weapons specialist had been rather informative and told Lennox everything that he wanted to know such as how the gestation cycle worked and what happened once the spark was placed in its protoform. Will had even discovered that the Transformers developed in a very similar way to humans except they could absorb information at a much quicker rate and learn to crawl and walk much faster than 'organic protoforms' as Ironhide labelled them. But what the Top kick truck had told him next took him somewhat by surprise; the practise of creating a new spark had been rare in their society even before the war broke out, Will had inquired as to why and had been told that it was due to the high possibility of a sparkling extinguishing half way through the gestation cycle, or after it had been placed in its protoform. Which then begged the question of where else the sparklings came from? Ironhide explained to him that they once had vast chambers that contained maturation sacks in which a immature spark produced by the Allspark would be placed, the sacks would then be generally filled with a special liquid metal that would form into a protoform. Then after a period of time, the sparkling would emerge and be taken to a nursery where they would be reared if they were not lucky enough to find a family or a clade.

"This is just so weird." Sam exclaimed.

"I know the word 'bizarre' has just got a new meaning to it." Will said.

Sam then frowned when a thought flitted across his mind "But aren't both Jazz and Prowl technically male so how can one of them be 'pregnant'? Isn't that physically impossible?"

"Sam remember their actually asexual, they just choose whether to be male or female by adopting the attributes associated with their chosen gender." Mikaela explained slightly exasperated "didn't you listen to Ratchet when he was giving that small lesson about their physiology?"

"Obviously not." Lennox said and Sam looked sheepishly at his girlfriend who simply frowned at him before she turned her attention back to the squabbling twins upon the couch.

"So why are the twins complaining?" Mikaela asked as she glanced across to where both Sunstreaker and Sideswipe were, she strangely enough felt comfortable about this whole thing since she and Sam had worried over the fact that the Cybertronians were doomed to extinction simply because the cube had been destroyed. She knew Sam would eventually work out for himself that this situation was actually a good thing, she understood that Sam still somewhat felt guilty even now about condemning the Cybertronians to extinction by destroying the ancient artefact that had originally sparked their race despite Optimus' reassurance that it had been the best course of action that day.

"Because they're afraid that the baby or sparkling as Ironhide keeps reminding me, is going to turn out just like Prowl." Will replied as he sat forward and placed his elbows upon his knees.

"And that's bad how? So the guy can be a little stiff and formal when he wants to be." Mikaela said in a confused tone, aliens whether they were robot or organic were just plain weird in her opinion "they might get lucky and the baby will be just like Jazz."

"Sparkling." Will corrected her as he sat forward in his seat and tapped the pen he was holding upon the stack of reports drumming a random tune.

"What?" She inquired.

"They call their infants sparklings." Lennox responded. Ironhide had constantly corrected him every time he said baby instead of sparkling to the point where he thought the weapons specialist was going to stomp on him.

"Giant alien robots and their technicalities." Sam said before he glanced around the room "well things are certainly going to be much different around here and probably for the better."

"You'll think that now but you wait, you won't be saying that after it lands you in trouble through no fault of your own then having your activities restricted because 'it could endanger the life of the sparkling', ugh I can hear Prowl already delivering one of his infamous lectures." Sideswipe said in a mocking tone of a lecture he knew would be quite common once the infant Cybertronian had arrived.

"Then you guys better start behavin'." Lennox replied Sideswipe simply shot the human Major a glare before joining his brother upon the larger couch to begin squabbling over what was on the TV then eventually the remote.

"So when is their sparkling due?" Mikaela asked clearly quite excited about the prospect of a baby transformer on the base.

"Who knows." Lennox replied.

"Could be years considering how big they are." Sam said, a loud thud reverberated throughout the room as the squabbling twins upended the couch and fell upon the floor fighting over the remote control.

"Probably similar to something like an elephant or a whale, Ironhide wasn't forthcoming about the time scale." Will responded as his gaze fell upon the twins fighting on top of the upended couch before something silver caught his attention in the corner of his field of vision and glanced over in that direction "speaking of mommy to be." Lennox pointed to the entrance of the recreation room where Jazz and Bumblebee had just stepped into the room.

"You know he'll kill you if he hears you call him that." Sam said with a chuckle and Will simply shrugged.

"Hey guys!" Mikaela called out. The two Autobots being addressed turned in the direction of the humans and made their way across, the pair of them ignored Sideswipe forming a cross with his index fingers and calling Jazz the 'evil one' as they passed before he was punched in the facial plates by his twin.

The Solstice instantly smiled "What's crackin' little bitches?" That little comment brought a smile to the two young adult's faces, Jazz had used that very expression not long after they had met up with Prime and the others once they had arrived on Earth.

"Hey Jazz how's it hangin'?" Sam asked since he knew the silver mech had adapted to their culture unlike the others despite the four years they had spent on the blue planet, of course there was the exception of Bumblebee who had spent a couple of years prior to them on the planet before they had arrived on Earth. The Witwicky boy, now looking at the Solstice, still couldn't wrap around his head how Jazz was going to carry this infant as he was sure there was no way he would carry it and give birth to it the same way as a human would as that would simply be disturbing. He vaguely wondered whether he should approach Ratchet about their gestation cycles or just wait to see what was going to happen, although he figured the CMO had something planned since he had called a base wide meeting for later that evening.

"So Jazz we just got wind of the news." Mikaela said as she stepped toward him, Jazz raised an optic ridge at her as he sat down upon the floor even Bumblebee looked somewhat surprised.

"What news?" The Camaro inquired as he glanced from the humans to his comrade.

"Wait 'Bee you don't know?" Sideswipe asked from where he was sat on top of his twin whilst trying to wrestle the remote control out of the wildly cursing golden Lamborghini's grasp.

"About what?" The yellow scout asked with confusion laced in the tone of his voice, all gazes fell upon Jazz but before he could open his mouth plates to inform the Camaro of the news, Sam and Mikaela beat him to it.

"Jazz is pregnant." Both of the young humans replied as one, the scout couldn't help but look even more confused until he cross referenced it with the internet then when he realised what they meant, his confused expression became one of surprise as he met his superiors gaze.

"You're 'sparked'? Does Prowl know?" Bumblebee inquired as he too lowered himself to the ground, the humans glanced at Jazz as the Camaro asked this.

"Yea he knows he took it quite well which was strange as I expected to at least have a debate over the whole thing." The Solstice responded "unless I've misjudged 'im an' he's crashed in his office now that its had time ta sink in." The Solstice knew the tactician would be at war with his logic centre and battle computer over the decision he had agreed to, he was expecting his mate to crash once he finally realised what he had agreed to. The pair of them had never really spoken about starting a family once the war was over and now faced with an unexpected sparkling on the way was taking its toll on the black and white Dodge Charger.

"So how are you taking to this new change?" Mikaela asked as she stepped toward the silver mech.

"Besides the fact I'm sick an' tired of bein' poked an' prodded by Ratchet, I'm relatively okay about it." Jazz told her "the only thin' I'm not lookin' forward too is not bein' able to carry out ma normal field duties which means I'll be cooped up in this place."

Sam cringed at the thought "Yikes the potential for cabin fever."

"That's what I'm worried about." Jazz replied in agreement "I've only ever been stuck in one place for a long period of time an' that didn't end pretty."

"Oh you slaggin' retard!" Sunstreaker yelled as he used his weight to roll out from under his twin and pin Sideswipe to the floor, Jazz sighed since he knew exactly where this was going as he pushed himself up onto his feet.

"Oh for Primus' sake, it's just a fraggin' scratch you sparkling." The red Lamborghini bit back as he tried to defend himself from his brother's onslaught "its not like the whole slaggin' world is gonna end."

"I'll show you a scratch." The gold Lamborghini threatened as he raised his fist ready to deliver his threat when Jazz sprung into action despite the humans yelling at him that he shouldn't get involved, however he ignored them as he grabbed the gold Lamborghini's fist.

The Solstice quirked a single optic ridge at the front-liner "Now Sunny play nice or I'm gonna have to pull rank on ya." Sunstreaker growled at the back of his throat and the others in the room steeled themselves for the gold Lamborghini to start on the saboteur for interrupting his spat with his twin. But the front-liner knew that if he laid a single finger upon the silver mech that he would be incurring more than just Prowl's wrath, but Prime's and Ratchet's as well.

"What is going on in here?" Rumbled a deep baritone from the entrance to the recreation room, everyone turned to find Ironhide stood there with his arms folded across his broad black chest with a single optic ridge raised at the three of them next to the upended couch "Jazz it's a good thing Prowl ain't here or he'd be having a fit right now about you getting into fights especially in your condition." The Solstice cocked his head to the side in an imitation of a human eye roll.

"Technically he was intervening." Sam said, Mikaela frowned at him and nudged him in the ribs silently telling him he wasn't helping the situation.

"And what are you glitch heads up to? Get your sorry afts off that floor and sort that out." The weapons specialist demanded, the twins immediately scrambled to get off the floor as they both knew when Ironhide was not in the mood he was a force to be reckoned with. That and the two Lamborghini's didn't particularly want to be on the other end of his rather powerful cannons, especially Sunstreaker who valued his paint job above everything else.

"How are the new upgrades?" Lennox asked as he began shuffling the reports into one pile, although in not any general order before he slipped it into the folder and sealed it shut with an elastic band.

"New upgrades?" Jazz and Bumblebee asked together as they glanced at the weapons specialist who was watching the twins assemble the couch back into order.

"Does Prime know about these ones?" Jazz continued to ask. He could easily recall the one time when the big, black bot tweaked his weapons system just a little too much and for several mega cycles after that, the targeting range back at Iacon went out without half its structure until Grapple, Hoist and a small repair team could get round to fixing it and the surrounding damage that had been caused.

"I'm not gonna make the same mistake like last time youngling." Ironhide replied as he glanced down at his human charge who was now stood beside him, folder of reports tucked under arm. Jazz frowned at that not quite understanding why the weapons specialist was, at this current moment in time, calling him youngling particularly when that title best suited Bumblebee. After all the scout was much younger than him, but he valued his aft too much to argue against the use of it.

"Anyway big guy I'm ready when you are." Lennox told the Top kick truck, Ironhide didn't say anything in reply as he turned around and left the room with Will following in his footsteps.

"He is so on top of my pranking list." Sideswipe grumbled the moment the weapons specialist was outside of the room, the others glanced across to him wondering if one of Sunstreaker's punches had knocked something lose in his cranial unit.

"You're such a moron, you know very well what will happen." The gold Lamborghini told his twin, Sideswipe scowled at his twin before shoving him off to one side. His brother retaliated the moment he corrected his balance and the pair began once again rough housing, Jazz stepped clear out of the way as the twins rolled around upon the floor and made his way back to where Bumblebee was stood with his two human charges.

"I ain't gettin' involved in that one." The Solstice said as he watched Mikaela make her way carefully around the twins to a compartment under the large screen, a smile slowly crept up onto his facial plates when he realised what she was about to do. The television screen that had originally been showing a horror film was switched to a chick flick that instantly caught Sideswipe's attention.

"Oh hell no." The red Lamborghini glanced in the direction of the human female whilst attempting to fend off a few of his brother's punches, Mikaela brandished the remote control at the front-line warriors when the gold Lamborghini finally realised that the television channel had been changed. The twins attempted to untangle themselves and get back the remote control, but Mikaela simply stepped behind the silver Solstice's leg knowing that neither of the brothers would harm the saboteur.

Sideswipe managed to pull himself to his feet first and rose to his towering height to try and intimidate Jazz, however the Solstice refused to be bullied by the red melee warrior "Jazz would you so kindly move out of the way so I can have words with the human femme hiding behind you."

"No can do Sides." Jazz replied with a grin " besides don't cha have one of ya own?" Sideswipe looked somewhat dumbstruck then he glanced at his twin. Noticing that Sunstreaker appeared to have the same thought as him, the red front-liner made a leap over the couch for the remote control lying somewhere on the floor between it and the television screen. The gold front-liner immediately made the same leap when his brother shifted his bulk, and caught his twin in a rugby tackle, the pair went over the top of the couch in a spectacular tangle of limbs before there was a loud crash upon the floor swiftly followed by more virulent cursing.

"As a ranking officer Jazz, you are supposed to be preventing this sort of behaviour from occurring not inciting it." Came a voice from the doorway. The silver Solstice and yellow Camaro glanced across the room to see the white and black form of the tactician step into the recreation room before he made his way over with a reprimanding look upon his facial plates.

"Oh hey Prowler." The saboteur said in greeting which earned him a raised optic ridge at the use of the nickname particularly when the Dodge Charger was reprimanding him, Prowl vented a deep sigh before he stepped in the direction of the twins. Jazz frowned at that as he noticed that his spark-mate's door wings were drooping upon his back and his entire posture seemed to slouch, the saboteur knew that the tactician wasn't taking to the news of impending parenthood as well as he thought he might despite his bonded's constant admission he was looking forward to something new and different. But if there was one thing the Solstice was especially good at, and that happened to be able to read body language and the silver mech knew the pair of them were going to have to talk about the subject more in depth sooner or later.

"The pair of you my office now." The tactician demanded raising his voice to be heard over the two of them fighting, the twins glanced at the tactician from where they were on the floor before they untangled themselves and got to their feet. Sunstreaker immediately levelled his brother with a dark glare which was met with a disapproving frown from Prowl, Sideswipe made to open his mouth plates in an attempt to plead for his sanity for the next three days, but thought better of it since it seemed that the tactician was in one of those moods where he refused to listen to excuses.

"Great going moron." The gold Lamborghini hissed to his brother as he made his way out of the recreation room, his twin trudged reluctantly after him followed swiftly by the Dodge Charger. However before the black and white mech left the recreation room he turned to face both Jazz and Bumblebee.

"Try not to cause any more mischief." He said before stepping out of the room.

Mikaela began making her way round to the Autobot sized couch "Well that got rid of the twins so we're free to watch whatever else is on."

"Yea we are but do me a favour Micky, no chick flicks." Jazz said as he scooped up the human female and settled her upon one of his shoulders before perching himself on the couch, Bumblebee also made his way round and settled onto the chair with Sam sat on one of the Camaro's shoulders. The human female sat upon his shoulder grinned mischievously as she turned to face the saboteur before pressing a button on the remote control and the channel flipped over to a soap opera, Jazz and Bumblebee scowled at her "ya can watch that crap any other time but right now? No."

"I was just pulling your gyros don't worry I have no interest in watching it." Mikaela replied before flipping it back to the channel Sunstreaker had been watching previously.

"You know Mikaela that is down right evil." Sam said as he glanced at his girlfriend propped on the silver Solstice's shoulder, she turned to face him with a grin.

"I know but I couldn't resist it." She replied as she shifted slightly to get more comfortable on Jazz's shoulder, although eventually she did ask to be let down and settled upon his forearm that was laid across his abdomen as the four of them watched the last of the movie. They decided upon watching a marathon of horror movies since the weather outside had decided to take a turn for the worse preventing the four of them from venturing out to the lookout. Jazz disappeared at some point during the afternoon when Mirage reported back from his mission but soon reappeared again dragging the somewhat weary spy in with him and pulled him over to the couch. He pushed the Ford GT into the chair and pointed a 'move your aft and I'll kick your ass' look and the blue and white mech stopped his struggles, he knew Jazz was more than capable of magnetising him to the spot if he so choose and decided not to tempt fate with his commanding officer's unpredictable moods brought on by his new condition.

An hour had barely trickled by since the Solstice had dragged Mirage into the recreation room when a certain rather fragged off medic stepped through the doors, he glared at the back of the spy's head as he stalked across the room. The Ford GT shrank slightly in his seat when he saw the CMO's reflection in the television screen.

"So this is where you've slaggin' been hiding?" Ratchet demanded as he stepped into the room and began making his way over "I have better things to do then track down wayward special ops agents who are supposed to report to me the moment they return."

"Cool ya circuits Ratch." Jazz said although his gaze never left the screen, the Hummer snapped his gaze to look at the Solstice and settled a pointed look at him "had I sent 'Raj on a covert ops I would have sent 'im down ta ya straight away but it was just a info gatherin' mission."

"It makes no difference, an ops mission is an ops mission and the agent is to report to me for a complete systems scan." Ratchet practically growled at him. It was standard procedure that after the special ops agents returned from their missions to firstly report to Ratchet to have any injuries seen to and to have a full systems scan in order to make sure they hadn't been compromised in any way. Then they were allowed to made their way to their commanding officers to deliver their respective reports.

_:/'Raj I suggest ya run, Ratch looks just about ready ta reformat someone.\:_ Jazz sent to his subordinate over their internal comm. link as Ratchet began a lengthy triad. The spy glanced between the medic and his superior as the pair began arguing before he engaged his cloaking device, he slipped out of his seat and ran toward the doorway. However he just barely made it outside of the recreation room when something whistled through the air behind him, he spun round just in time to see what looked like a wrench sailing through the air before it connected with his helm and knocked him off-line.

Both Jazz and Bumblebee were surprised by Ratchet's perfect aim at taking the invisible spy down. The pair glanced over the top of the couch and glanced across to the off-line Mirage lying just outside of the doorway (the Ford GT's cloak had disengaged the moment the spy had lost consciousness), they glanced at the irate medic who was now moving toward the other special ops agent. The Hummer grabbed one of Mirage's peds and unceremoniously dragged the spy down the hallway whilst grumbling about what he planned to do the spy.

"Wow remind me not to piss Ratchet off least I want to keep my internals, internal." Sam said as he glanced at his guardian.

"He'll get over it." Jazz replied as he slouched in the couch "an' Mirage will be fine."

"You better hope he is after all your unit is already a pretty small squad as it is." Mikaela admonished the Solstice.

Jazz glanced at the human female and smiled "Mickey we've fragged off Ratchet royally before an' escaped with our hides intact." Bumblebee snorted at that "okay relatively intact."

"If not sporting a new accessory in forms of new dents or a medical tool wedged in unpleasant places." The scout said.

"Ouch." Sam replied as he tried to block the images of his guardian or one of the others stumbling out of the med-bay with a scalpel lodged in their cranial units or in undignified places such as their afts.

Jazz chuckled at the look upon Sam's face "That's why we've learned ta duck when ole Hatchet starts pitchin' things." The Solstice pushed himself up out of the couch "anyway I better go check an' make sure Ratch leaves ma intelligence officer in one piece."

"Good luck." Mikaela replied, the chief of special ops smiled before stepping out of the room whilst she, Sam and Bumblebee settled down to watch another movie hoping that maybe the weather outside would improve so they could head out to the lookout rather than endure an afternoon of boredom although so far it had been far from boring.

The downpour from early on in the day had finally disappeared leaving everything saturated and the atmosphere smelling damp, the setting sun ignited the sky into a fiery passion of red, orange, yellow, purple and blues as it slipped beyond the hills. The town of Tranquillity that could just be seen from the recommissioned military outpost was just beginning to light up with street lamps whether they were domestic or business lights. A gusty cold wind suddenly blew up and whipped around the base, it could be heard howling through the ventilation ducts, but it was a sound that the alien residents of the base easily adapted too and now ignored. However the cold wind and the damp aurora that had settled upon the outside world did not prevent Optimus from stepping out of the base, he slowly made his way toward a small ridge upon the hills behind the hangar that gave a better view of the small suburb below. He climbed the few metres up the hill and perched upon the ledge many of his sub-ordinates often used to view the still somewhat alien sky above them hoping that soon some of their other comrades would make their way to Earth.

He sat down upon the wet sodden ground ignoring the cold feeling that seeped through armour plating, he drew one knee up toward his chest and placed one arm bent at the elbow upon the same knee before tipping his head back and settling blue optics upon the sky above him. The stars were just beginning to appear in the night sky but fought against the passing clouds that he knew probably threatened to bring more rain and send the young members of his crew into a fit of 'cabin fever'. The twins had been restless of late and were brawling more often than not, Ironhide had also become slightly more trigger happy than normal since he couldn't head down to the firing range as the passage way down had been made treacherous by the near constant rain.

Speaking of said weapons specialist, the black bot left the hangar bay and scanned the landscape critically before his optics fell upon his leader. The GMC Top Kick truck made his way over and picked his way up the hillside before sitting down next to his leader and good friend "What's picking at your processor Prime?" Ironhide inquired as he glanced at the Semi truck.

"I believe the correct term is 'eating'." Optimus corrected his weapons specialist, the black bot simply shrugged his broad shoulders.

"Humans and their strange expressionisms." The weapons specialist rumbled.

Prime glanced round when he noticed the absence of Ironhide's charge "Speaking of humans. Where is Major Lennox?"

"He and Sergeant Epps decided to give Prowl a few pointers about fatherhood, not sure that's a good idea and I tried to talk them out of it." The black bot responded as he glanced across to the horizon where the town of Tranquillity could be seen before gazing back at his leader "you sure you want ta let them have this sparkling? The 'cons are gonna make their way back to this planet sooner or later."

"I have mulled over my decision several times since the existence of the sparkling was revealed and I do not regret allowing them to continue with the gestation cycle." Optimus told his weapons specialist, Ironhide knew personally what it was like to raise a youngling during the height of war after Optimus had placed Bumblebee under the black bot's care "our numbers are so few now and with the Allspark gone . . . ."

The black bot cocked his head to the side in an imitation of an eye roll "Yea, yea the kid's a blessing and a sign of hope." He had heard Optimus make that speech before when they thought Bumblebee would be the last youngling to ever be created "ya know those glitchin' idiots are gonna have to be reined in before the kid arrives or I can see Prowl lodging a acid pellet in one or both of their cranial units."

"He has more restraint than that." Prime said with a smile.

"He's goin' to need it especially when Jazz starts actin' like a slagtard more than usual." Ironhide replied, Optimus quirked an optic ridge at that. The Solstice could be on the occasion intolerable but there had always been a reason for it whether he was bored or just in one of those moods where he wanted to maim something and would provoke Ironhide into an impromptu sparring match.

"Jazz just doesn't like to be idle." Prime defended his second lieutenant despite the fact he knew Ironhide was right about the Solstice.

"Just like a few other bots we know of." The weapons specialist said as he settled his gaze upon the night sky, only a few stars twinkled in the dark blue canvas whilst others were obscured by the clouds that drifted lazily across the sky "certain ones I hope don't make their way here."

"Yes its bad enough that the twins give me a processor ache without Blurr being around." Optimus replied, the blue intelligence officer wasn't too bad a mech but his incessant need for talking at ridiculous speeds was enough for someone to aim a rifle at him and shoot him if only to shut him up for a few nano clicks.

"Could be worse, the next arrivals could be the Dinobots." Ironhide said.

"The Dinobots I can deal with and I believe should they ever make planet fall, Tom Banachek might have what the humans would call a heart attack." The Semi glanced up at the night sky when he felt the first drops of rain upon his armoured plating "and I would much prefer to restrain the twins and their antics then prevent the Dinobots from ever leaving base." Ironhide chuckled at that, out of the two options the twins were much easier to subdue than Grimlock and his unit. The Dinobots refused to take orders from anyone other than their own leader but even then Slag questioned him.

Suddenly the clouds that had gathered above them finally let go of their load and both Optimus and Ironhide had no choice but to retreat inside, however unknown to them they were followed by a small glint of silver that weaved in and out of the shadows before ducking into a ventilation duct. The pair of them stepped into the hangar and made their way down into the subterranean levels, the base was always much quieter at night with a skeleton crew of humans running the night shift with one or two Autobots either out on patrol or in the control room. Several humans passed the Autobot Commander and weapons specialist as they finished their shift and headed out of the base and for their homes. Prime followed Ironhide down to the recreation room intending to grab a mug of energon before retreating back to his office and look over any reports awaiting his attention there. The pair of them were about to turn into the corridor that led down to the recreation room when a certain somewhat fragged off CMO stalked down the hallway and walked past them grumbling about the stupid directive that prevented him from stepping on humans that were now proving to be a bane of his existence. Optimus glanced down at his weapons specialist and rose a single optic ridge at the medic's behaviour.

"Wonder what's eating at his diodes?" The black bot asked.

"I'm not sure but we better find out." Optimus responded as they followed in the Hummer's wake. Prime began entering the code for the recreation room when the doors whooshed open and a certain red mech all but charged out.

"I didn't do it, had nothing to do with me." Sideswipe defended himself as he gave his commander and the Top Kick truck a wide berth before racing down the hallway.

"Want me to bring back that hellion?" Ironhide asked as he watched Sideswipe slip away.

"Somehow I have a feeling that what has ever occurred in the rec. room is not of his own doing despite his most recent behaviour." Optimus replied as he stepped into the room and glanced across to where the commotion was. Both Sunstreaker and Mirage were stood off to the side whilst Ratchet and Wheeljack could be seen crouching upon the floor. Major Lennox and Sergeant Epps were stood beside Mirage looking concerned, the humans glanced up at the two Autobots approaching and a somewhat nervous expression appeared upon their faces.

"Ratchet?" Optimus inquired as he drew closer.

"Not now, I need to determine how bad they've glitched his processor." The medic snapped as he shifted slightly and Prowl's downed form came into view. Somehow Optimus suspected that freezing the tactician's processor had not been on Lennox's and Epps' agenda, he could see from the humans expressions that they were afraid of what the repercussions would be since they had never seen the Charger glitch before. Prime was just glad Jazz was on duty in the control room at the moment, although he had a feeling the Solstice would tell him that he had been expecting his mate to crash as the realisation that yes they were having a sparkling finally sunk in. Then of course the humans giving their own advice had been the last straw and glitched the Dodge Charger's processors.

"So Doc?" Ironhide asked. The weapons specialist knew he would have to ask both army rangers exactly what they had been discussing with Prowl prior to his glitch later, he knew the pair of them had offspring of their own (he had played guardian for Annabelle Lennox since the day he had been introduced to Will's wife and daughter) and without doubt they wanted to share their experiences of fatherhood with one of their alien allies that was about to become a parent himself. However the Top Kick truck would have to ask them to tone it down a little and keep particular details about their children to themselves least they wanted a 'sparked' mech to turn them into stains upon the floor.

"They got lucky." Ratchet all but growled and Lennox and Epps both took a couple of steps back as the medic glared at them "but I need to get him to the repair bay so I can reverse the glitch and bring him on-line." Optimus nodded and both the Hummer and the Lancia moved into positions to pick the Dodge Charger up between them "do me one favour though make sure that Prowl's glitch head of a bond-mate stays away from my med-bay."

Optimus took a step back, not at all happy about being asked to run a distraction. After all one did not interfere in matters between bond-mates especially when one of them was with new spark "I shall try my best but this is Jazz we're talking about, his condition makes him scarier than an angry femme, and I prefer to keep some particular components that are very near and dear to me intact." There were numerous chuckles around the room at that.

The CMO snorted in amusement before he medic and Wheeljack made their way out of the recreation room carrying the unconscious tactician between them.

Unknown to the Autobots, a small silver creature had overseen the events in the recreation room, he slowly and quietly as possible turned around and made his way back through the vents he had travelled through to get there. The vents didn't allow for much room but that did not prevent the small creature making his quick escape back to the outside world. He pushed the vent cover open and dropped to the muddy floor with a splash, stalk like optics scanned his surroundings critically to make sure no-one had heard him before creeping across to the tree line a few hundred yards from the base.

He all but galloped through the trees stopping every now and again to check that no-one was either following him or heard him, he spotted the barbed wired fence but a few metres away and raced toward it. However he had to quickly back peddle and scuttle up a tree when a human dressed in military wear passed beneath him. The torch the fleshing held shone upon the undergrowth, but it was not the flesh creature on two legs he was concerned about; the human had an animal with him that could easily detect his presence, but it seemed that luck was on his side and both human and dog passed him by. Frenzy dropped down from the tree twittering at the two fleshlings before he raced toward the fence, vaulting himself over the top of it and dropping down into the vegetation on the other side.

A rumbling of a high performance engine caught the small hacker's audio receptors and Frenzy peered out of the vegetation to scrutinise the vehicle heading down the highway, the decals on the car were unmistakable and the small Decepticon signalled for the shock trooper to pull over. Barricade complied and swung open his passenger side door reluctantly and Frenzy dived under the vehicle, he slid out from the other side and clambered into the shock trooper's alt. mode. The Decepticon scout was less than impressed that the small hacker was bouncing upon his leather interiors and splattering mud and water everywhere, but he would have to put his complaints aside for now and slip away unnoticed from the Autobot base with any valuable data Frenzy was able to procure from their enemies.

_So the rest of the Autobots now know about their newest addition and Prowl finally crashed (couldn't help it). And now Barricade has stepped into the picture._

_Read and review!_


	4. Conflict between Brothers

I want to once again thank those who have reviewed this story so far and stuck with me. I also couldn't believe that this story has earned over 1,000 hits you guys are awesome.

**Disclaimer**: Transformers belongs to its associated appropriates and not me.

**Warnings**: use of profanities, violence and slight gore

_'Blah' – thoughts_

_::Blah:: - Radio Communication_

_:/blah\: - Inter. comm._

_::/Blah\\:: Bond communication_

"_Blah" - Inter-dimmensional speech_

Since the 'talk' with Major Lennox and Sergeant Epps which had glitched Prowl's CPU, the tactician had surprisingly been more attentive to his bond-mate's needs now that the realisation that they were having a sparkling, had sunk in. The Dodge Charger had on-lined in the med-bay a few hours later with both Ratchet and a smiling Jazz hovering above him, his mate greeted him with one of his usual obnoxious greetings before the Hummer made him recount to them what had happened before his processor crashed. Once that task was done, Ratchet all but happily kicked the pair of them out of his repair bay, but not before informing Jazz that he was to return to him the following morning for a check up and to pick up his batch of specially brewed energon; something the silver mech now loathed with a vengeance and would sulk like a youngling whenever he was made to ingest it.

That had a few days ago and Prowl had now come to the conclusion that although Jazz was carrying the growing spark of their creation, the Solstice had certainly not lost any of his spunk especially his mischievous behaviour which he had surprisingly woken up with that morning. The Dodge Charger certainly couldn't argue with it since it was a change from the dark mood Jazz had been in for the past couple of days, but he just wished that his bond-mate hadn't help perfect the twin's prank on Ironhide which had ended rather spectacularly to say the least. Before heading out for his afternoon patrol, Prowl had to deal with the three of them after the prank had been pulled and injuries had been seen to, the 2IC had sent the weapons specialist off to the training area to work off his anger and then sentenced the twins to double shifts of long range patrol; something neither of the Lamborghini's enjoyed especially with the wet weather conditions at the moment. The tactician then took Jazz out on short range patrol with him in hopes of running some of that excess mischievous energy off, but he quickly discovered that maybe he had made the wrong decision.

Now patrol, Jazz surmised was one of the most boring things he could be doing but he was stuck with it, although in some respects he couldn't argue with the fact that he was out of the base with his bond-mate. So being forced to obey speed limits, being cut off by other cars, enduring traffic jams for hours on end and close bodily contact with non-sentient auto-mobiles didn't bother Jazz until finally he had, had enough and started pining for the open road with no such 'speed restrictions' to slow him down.

Prowl could sense his mate's itchiness to get onto the highway and decided to steer them in that direction, he felt the echoing rumble of approval come from Jazz through their bond several minutes later after they turned onto the road with the other traffic. Suddenly the Dodge Charger realised he had made a mistake of allowing the saboteur onto the highway as no sooner had they crossed over into the fast lane that the silver Pontiac Solstice floored his accelerator and sped away from him. He watched as Jazz dangerously manoeuvred through the traffic and knew that the near misses wouldn't last long should either his spark-mate or the humans travelling the highway make a mistake; he decided then that it would be best to put a stop to the Solstice's reckless behaviour before someone got hurt.

_:/Jazz pull back or slow down.\:_ Prowl told the Solstice, there was no response _:/Jazz?\:_

_:/Chill Prowl.\: _Was his mate's response as he continued to speed, Jazz swerved in front of a car and it sounded its horn at him for cutting it off.

_:/Jazz please slow down or I'm going to have to report this behaviour to Prime, and I'm sure he will most gladly lecture you about this.\:_ Prowl said as he hopped from one lane to the next furiously trying to keep up with the much faster Solstice, again there was no response and Prowl decided that another tactic was needed _:/very well have it your way.\:_

The Dodge Charger sounded his sirens and his lights came on as he took off after his wayward partner, he dodged round a family estate car and moved back into the fast lane. Jazz was just up ahead of him now and he knew there was a slim possibility of catching him, the tactician began running scenarios through his processor of how he might be able to slow down the Solstice when suddenly his thoughts were disrupted by a snicker coming across the comm. line. He watched as Jazz slammed his brakes on just ahead of him, compelling Prowl to also apply his own or end up taking out the back end of his partner.

Nothing could have prepared him for what happened next as Jazz in all his devious glory shot a pulse of his magnetics right at him, the energy discharged across his armoured plating and raced through his systems. His engine immediately soared to several thousand R.p.m. and his back end fishtailed dangerously, he quickly corrected himself before he clipped another car and took off again after his bond-mate who had switched to the middle lane and pulled back to sit along side of him _:/That was dangerous, not too mention reckless Jazz.\:_ He admonished the silver bot.

_:/Prowl loosen up besides I know you enjoyed it.\:_ Jazz shot back.

_:/I did not; the move was foolish and irresponsible of . . . .\: _His lecture was cut off however by his spark-mate.

_:/Prowler ya've been far too tense just lately, ain't good fer ya systems.\: _The saboteur told him as he moved in closer so their energy fields were touching.

The tactician felt the soothing pulse his bonded sent through their slowly synchronising energy fields _:/I know, but I need you to understand your reckless tendencies are far too dangerous for both you and our sparklet, I don't want to see anything happen to either ….\: _His words trailed off when another police cruiser with a different build and décor came racing up behind them with lights flashing and sirens wailing. The pair at first believed that they had somehow accidentally attracted the human authorities, however their scanners could not deny the strong Decepticon signal emanating from within the vehicle.

_:/Is that who I think it is?\:_ Jazz asked as he closed in on Prowl tightening the gap between them, the white and black Charger pulled back to sit behind the Solstice and ultimately blocking him from Barricade's view.

_:/It is, we need to draw him away from the humans.\: _Prowl responded, he needed no response from Jazz as the pair of them floored their accelerators and tore off down the highway. The black and white Mustang immediately gave chase, nearly taking out several human vehicles in the process as it closed in on the two Autobots. Barricade managed to pull up alongside Prowl and aimed one of his small guns, (which popped out from under a panel on top of his bonnet) at the tactician. Jazz, sensing the attack, braked hard and steered in-between the pair of them, scraping fenders and damaging parts of all their alt. modes just as Barricade opened fire, the shot pinged off a low level force field and exploded harmlessly in the air above them. Enraged by this sudden move, Barricade swerved out to ram the pair of them off the road, only to miss as the two Autobots braked hard together before pulling off ahead of him again and toward an old abandoned industrial site just outside of the city.

Jazz was the first to arrive and hand brake turned before transforming into his bipedal mode and settling into an offensive stance, Prowl was right behind him but no sooner had he finished his transformation sequence that Barricade sprung at him and the pair went crashing to the ground. The saboteur was about to join the fray until something sunk deep into the back of his left shoulder, the Solstice bit back a cry before reaching behind and tearing the disc shaped shuriken out of his shoulder. Enraged by the move Jazz sent the sharp bladed disc right it back toward its owner.

Frenzy cursed and scrambled to get out of the way simply because he did not want to lose his head again to his own stupid mistake. He began firing in rapid succession but none of his shots struck their target instead they all bounced harmlessly off the temporary force field Jazz had erected around himself before taking his own aim and firing, the small Decepticon squealed in alarm as it barely missed him. A loud crash behind him distracted the Solstice for a minor fraction of a second, smoke and dust billowed up into the air but Jazz had to concern himself more with the small 'con bouncing toward him cursing him in their native language whilst firing his small weapons. The Solstice smirked and sunk into a defensive posture whilst keeping his force field up and just as Frenzy was in range, he ran toward him and struck out with his right foot as if he was kicking a football and the boom box went sailing through the air. The small hacker crashed to the ground in an ungraceful heap on the other side of the site, unconscious.

With Frenzy now out of the way, Jazz could turn his attention to Barricade who was still fighting with Prowl, he ran over in time to see his bond-mate duck out of the way of the lethal melee weapon as it soared through the air however Prowl was not quick enough on his feet and was hit by the second blow. A cry escaped the tactician as armour was torn open and a door wing nearly ripped off its hinges. Barricade stood poised over the crumpled heap of the Dodge ready to deliver a fatal blow until Jazz shot him in the centre of his back plates with his plasma cannon. The Decepticon hissed in pain before he glanced over his shoulder and sneered at the Autobot.

"You know there's no fun in kickin' an opponent when they're down." Jazz said as he watched Barricade fully turn to face him, melee weapon hanging dangerously at his side "oh an' your little buddy, I think he's somewhere on the other side of the site tryin' to orient his gyro's." Barricade didn't hesitate and lunged at the silver Solstice, the saboteur swung his upper body back as the black and white mech's shiny metallic claws sliced through the air dangerously close to Jazz's facial plates. The saboteur ducked forward and punched him in the side followed by an elbow joint slamming into the back plates of the Decepticon. A string of Cybertronian profanities emitted from Barricade's mouth as he stumbled forwards before composing himself and spinning round to execute a series of vengeful attacks upon the smaller bot. Jazz ducked and dodged out of the way of the vicious attacks however Barricade suddenly launched himself at him, and Jazz had no choice but to throw himself into a sideways roll barely managing to escape as the flail slammed into the rain sodden ground, spraying mud and water in all directions.

'_Slag, that was close.'_ Jazz thought to himself as he came back up onto his feet and turned to see that Barricade was now open for a shot, but Jazz couldn't use his plasma cannon in case the shot went wide and took out the buildings in the background that although were obsolete, could attract unwanted human attention. The black-white Mustang turned around for another series of vengeful attacks and Jazz's protective instincts immediately went into overdrive, his first priority was to generate a low-level force-field around his spark casing and activate his battle shield.

And just in the nick of time too, for Barricade's melee weapon swung loosely in a wide arc intending to hit Jazz's midsection, the silver bot caught the weapon on his shield and drove it off to the side. But the second swing got him and the force of the blow sent the saboteur backwards landing upon the soaked ground with a dull thud and splashing of water and mud, Jazz felt himself balancing upon the verge of unconsciousness and attempted to get up from the ground. The saboteur's visor dimmed for a moment as error messages scrolled across his vision before it lit up again and just in time to register a clawed hand falling down onto his chest. Razor-sharp fingers sank into his shoulder and were dragged downwards through armoured plating, internal components and even snagging a couple of secondary fuel lines as the claws made their way toward the centre of his chest. Jazz cried out in pain as he seized Barricade's wrist and yanked the clawed digits out of his armour, he kicked out with his right foot sending the Decepticon scout stumbling backwards. The saboteur twisted up onto his feet despite the urgent warnings appearing upon his HUD and how his legs trembled violently beneath him, however before he could take stock of his injuries, a shot from Barricade's own plasma cannon struck him in the right side sending him flying backwards and hitting an old, crumbling, concrete column that once served as a smoke stack. The saboteur didn't have time to clear any of his receptors this time as Barricade leapt for him and pinned him against the concrete wall.

"Not so cocky now are we Autobot?" The shock trooper asked as he stepped closer to the pinned Solstice, Jazz simply growled in the back of his throat at him "I'm truly surprised that your own faction don't have you under tighter guard as you're clearly emitting residual traces of Allspark energy." Jazz still didn't give him an answer as he wasn't fully focused upon the shock trooper but rather what was behind him, Prowl was gingerly picking himself up from the ground and getting to his feet, his mate stumbled slightly but corrected himself once he locked gazes with Jazz and saw the danger he was in.

"Don't need to be cocky when you're about to be shot in the back." The saboteur replied, Barricade glanced over his shoulder to find Prowl's acid pellet rifle pointed right at the back of his helm.

"Release him." The white and black Charger hissed angrily, his instincts to protect both his mate and offspring easily overriding his battle computer and logic circuits.

"I don't think so . . . . brother." Barricade replied as he turned to face the pinned Solstice with a sneer "your partner here has something that I require."

"Don't know what the hell you're talkin' about." Jazz said as the shock trooper tightened his grip around his throat whilst his free hand flexed claw like digits ready to sink into the damaged armoured chest plating.

"I think you do." Barricade responded "the Allspark shard that resides inside of your spark chamber has another purpose to fulfil." Prowl's glanced past the shock trooper and saw the look of pleading and desperation upon his mate's facial plates as the Decepticon scout was not only threatening Jazz's existence but that of their unborn offspring as well.

"Release him now Barricade." Prowl warned as he thumbed off the safety truly intent of lodging an acid pellet in his brother's processor, he knew he would have to act fast as Barricade would only require a few seconds of distraction to tear through the saboteur's damaged armoured plating and tear his spark out of his chest "I will not warn you again."

"Prowl I got Ironhide an' back up on the way." Jazz told his bond-mate after securing a tight comm. link with the weapon specialist who was more than willing to come to their rescue and take down Barricade. The Solstice also hoped that by saying this bit of information out loud might intimidate the Decepticon into letting him go, or it could go the other way and the shock trooper might be spurred on to complete his mission and rip his spark from his chest. Barricade still didn't release the Solstice even though he knew he would soon be out numbered six to one, he always preferred odds that were against him anyway.

"Let him go 'Cade." Prowl said using his sibling's nickname that he had once used long ago "you can't possibly fight us all when our reinforcements arrive."

"I won't have to if I terminate the pair of you now." Barricade replied as he glanced over his shoulder again to see a grim expression upon Prowl's facial plates, however his gaze quickly fell upon the trigger of the rifle aimed at him as the Dodge Charger slid his index finger around it. This was all the distraction Jazz needed as he slipped one foot around Barricade's right ankle and pulled. The shock trooper made a noise of surprise before losing his balance and falling flat on his back, Barricade used his new position to toss Jazz over onto his back whilst Prowl squeezed off a couple of rounds as the black and white Mustang rolled to his feet and shot back. But they went wide and hit the buildings behind Prowl who was moving to take cover behind one of the still standing smoke stacks before circling back round toward his disorientated mate.

Suddenly there were emergency sirens and loud growls of high performance engines and Barricade took that as a sign to leave, but not before he aimed his cannon in the direction of a dazed Jazz and fired. However the shot didn't hit its intended target as Prowl sprinted the last few metres to his spark-mate, slid to a stop next to his bond-mate and covered him just as the shot rang out. The two mechs went sprawling to the ground as Barricade transformed and took off just as the other Autobots arrived, the gold Lamborghini and black GMC Top Kick truck immediately opened fire and gave chase whilst Optimus and Ratchet rushed across to the pair still lying upon the ground. Ratchet dropped beside the two of them and gently rolled an unconscious Prowl onto his back which in turn uncovered the barely on-line Solstice beneath him. The medic froze and took in each of the serious wounds Jazz was now sporting and knew he had to act fast if he was to ensure both the saboteur and his offspring survived. The Hummer overheard Optimus ordering both Ironhide and Sunstreaker to report back and then check out the warehouse a few hundred yards from them, the weapons specialist grumbled an acknowledgement before the line closed.

"Optimus get Wheeljack out here and tell him to bring a supply of transfusionable energon with him." The Hummer ordered as he started work on sealing as many of the sliced through fuel lines as possible to stabilise the Solstice, Prime rumbled an acknowledgement before contacting the base and ordering Wheeljack to make his way to them asap. He then turned his attention back to the medic as he feverishly worked upon his third in command. The Hummer reached across and sealed a couple of leaking lines in the tactician's torn door wing joints and checked his vitals. Prime heard Jazz hiss in pain as he slowly regained consciousness before a loud keening sound escaped him, the noise was enough to make the energon in his lines run cold, and instantly bring Ratchet's attention back to him.

"Ratch." The saboteur began as he fought through the haze of pain and the erratic signals his spark was sending to his processor "I'm startin' ta lose 'im." The medic scanned him with the portable scanner he removed from sub-space before a string of expletives emitted from his vocaliser when the results upon the scanner presented to him with nothing but bad news.

"Ratchet?" Optimus inquired.

"The sparkling's vitals are destabilising, if Jazz doesn't receive an energon transfusion shortly his carrier programming will execute the termination codes, and I don't think I need to explain to you exactly what they will do once activated." The medic responded. Prime felt his fuel pump skip a beat, he simply couldn't allow the termination of the sparkling to occur, he knelt down beside the Hummer with a serious look upon his facial plates.

"Then take what you need from me." He told the CMO, Ratchet snapped his head in his direction.

"Its too dangerous." The Hummer responded with a frown.

"What other option is there? You said so yourself that if Jazz does not receive a transfusion, the sparkling will be terminated." Optimus began "and I will not allow that too happen." Ratchet stared at him for a few moments weighing up the odds before he vented a sigh through his intakes.

"Alright fine." He responded before moving to connect one of Optimus' fuel lines to the Solstice's hoping that Wheeljack would arrive shortly with supplies as the amount of energy Jazz required to sustain himself and his sparkling could very well cost their Prime his life. But Optimus was willing to risk it if it gave the infant the fighting chance it needed to survive this ordeal. Ratchet grabbed his transfusion kit and tore open the packaging, he hastily set up the equipment before requesting his leader to get as close as he possibly could to Jazz. Optimus complied as the medic slid one of the spikes into the main energon line inside of his left elbow before doing the same to the saboteur. Once the transfusion was set up between the pair of them, Ratchet turned his scanner upon Prowl checking his condition, the tactician was still stable and in no danger so the Hummer focused his attention back on the Solstice. The silver mech's energy levels were slowly beginning to stabilise, but they still weren't high enough to prevent the carrier programming from terminating the sparkling, Ratchet worked quickly to seal off every leak he could find and take as many of Jazz's non essential systems off-line.

The Hummer's scanners stopped screaming warnings at him the moment he sealed off the last leak in the saboteur's right shoulder, he almost vented a sigh of relief but he knew he couldn't not until the tears in the Solstice's armour were closed. Ratchet turned his sensors momentarily on Optimus to find that the Semi Peter-built had shut down all of his non-essential systems, he knew there was a high percentage that if Wheeljack didn't arrive soon with the supplies, Optimus could easily fall into an energy deprived stasis. The medic glanced up when he saw Ironhide and Sunstreaker make their way across from the warehouse, the old weapons specialist gaze hardening when he saw the transfusion line linking Prime to Jazz. Ironhide would have shot a disapproving frown in Optimus' direction if the semi Peter-built was fully on-line, but at the moment their leader appeared to be in a light recharge.

"We've arranged the warehouse interior so you can work on those two out of the rain." The black GMC truck told the medic.

"Good as the last thing I need to be adding right now is fried circuit boards to the mix." Ratchet replied as he unwrapped a roll of flexiseal and covered each of Jazz's wounds, he did the same to Prowl before glancing at the gold Lamborghini "Sunstreaker grab Prowl but watch those tears, I don't need you opening any of those lines again." The gold front-liner grimaced at the thought of spoiling his paint work further but none the less complied, he slung the tactician across his shoulder with help from the weapons specialist before trudging across to the warehouse "Ironhide get Optimus to his feet, I'll get Jazz."

"What about the . . . ?" The weapons specialist was about to ask when Ratchet severed it on Jazz's end then quickly removed it from Optimus "come on youngling up on your feet." The semi Peter-built readily accepted Ironhide's help as he got to his feet, he swayed unsteadily upon his pedes but quickly shook off the dizziness as he started toward the warehouse with the black GMC top kick following closely behind. Ratchet was a few seconds behind them with the Solstice clutched in his arms, they all ducked into the warehouse where both Sunstreaker and the CMO deposited their respective loads upon the floor next to one another.

"Sunstreaker will you go and watch out for Wheeljack?" Ratchet inquired, the front-liner nodded and left the dry confines of their temporary shelter. The Hummer knew the Lamborghini would bitch about his paintwork later but right now there were more important things at stake "Ironhide will you help me with their repairs until Wheeljack gets here." The weapons specialist made his way over from where he had been stood next to Optimus and knelt beside Prowl's unconscious form. Both CMO and Top kick truck worked quietly in patching up the wounds the tactician and the saboteur had sustained in the fight from Barricade. It wasn't long before Sunstreaker returned with the engineer in tow and behind them was Major Lennox's team.

The Prime was surprised to see the humans there "Major?"

"We figured you might need some help getting these two back to the base, we've got a truck and trailer outside waiting." Lennox told the Autobot commander.

"Thank you Will." The large red and blue mech said as he leant back against the wall with one arm resting upon a raised knee.

"No problem Optimus." The Major replied before stepping away and ordering his men to take positions outside to keep watch. The semi Peter-built watched him leave before his attention was drawn to Wheeljack who was making his way over to him.

"How are they?" The Prime inquired as he glanced across to his second and third in command.

"They're both stable, we've patched them up as best we can so we can get them transferred to the base." The Lancia Stratos told his commander as he set up the energon transfusion "but we can't move for another few hours as we need to keep an optic on Jazz's carrier programming and the sparkling."

"Understood." Optimus replied, he could feel the new energy seep into his systems, he knew ten minutes more and he would have slipped into recharge to conserve what energy he had. His deep blue optics fell upon the unconscious form of his third in command, he did not regret in any way in helping the Solstice, after all the sparkling currently residing in the silver mech's spark chamber was a new constant reminder that there was hope for their species considering how few of them there were now. He watched Wheeljack leave his side to rejoin Ratchet in finalising the temporary repairs to Jazz and Prowl before he felt his optic shutters begin to close, he fought against his systems demand for recharge but in the end it was all in vain. The Prime finally fell into recharge under the watchful gaze of both Ironhide and Major Lennox whilst Ratchet and Wheeljack began their silent vigil of watching over their two patients for any significant change.

**Back at the base ….**

The return to consciousness was slow at first as his systems came back on-line one by one, like usual his audio and visual receptors were the last to reboot when he was forced into off-lining. He discovered, as his optical sensors returned to full operating capacity, that he was in the med-bay. Prowl currently felt as though he had gone several rounds with the Decepticon's heavy hitters instead of Barricade as he pushed himself into a sitting position feeling twinges of pain from his left door wing, however he ignored the pain as his gaze settled upon the silver form of his bond-mate who was stretched out on his back. The Dodge Charger frowned when he caught sight of blue strips of flexiseal covering some gouge marks created by a set of deadly claws upon the saboteur's upper right chest and shoulder, a scorch mark graced his right flank whilst an energon drip was hooked up to one of the silver mech's arms. The tactician was drawn out of his thoughts when he heard footsteps and glanced across the med-bay to see Ratchet step out of his office with a couple of data-pads in his hands.

"It's good to finally see you back on-line." The CMO said as he stepped up alongside Prowl's berth.

"I do not remember going off-line." The tactician replied as the medic removed a scanner from sub-space and ran it over Prowl's form checking over the repairs and making sure he hadn't pulled any of the welds out of place.

"Not surprised the trauma to your left wing panel initiated stasis lock protocols after that slaggin' 'Con Barricade left some nasty looking gouges in it." Ratchet said and Prowl awkwardly glanced over his shoulder bringing the sore wing into view and for the first time saw the deep gouge marks, like the ones gracing his bond-mate's chest and shoulder. That was the downside of door wings – they were perhaps the only appendage ever created that could send one into stasis-lock simply from the amount of pain their overly sensitive receptors could register, no matter how non-lethal the damage was.

"And Jazz?" He inquired as he glanced across to his mate again.

"He's going to be fine, it was a close call." The Hummer responded as he followed the tactician's gaze "he came very close to his carrier programming terminating the sparkling."

Prowl snapped his head to glance at the medic when he heard those words and hoped his offspring was still alive and well "But the infant . . . .?"

"Is also fine." Ratchet replied as he caught the Charger's worried look "although there has been a new development in regards to your creation." The tactician's optic ridges drew together in a frown and Ratchet handed over one of the data-pads he had been holding to the Dodge Charger. Prowl scrutinised the scans upon the screen. The apparent new development was highlighted and looked like a dark mass situated just below his bond-mate's spark chamber.

"Ratchet what is that?" The tactician inquired.

"It's an abundance of materials which will eventually develop into a protoform." The Hummer responded, both the Charger's optic ridges rose upwards before his azure gaze trailed across to his unconscious partner "I've only ever come across one other case similar to this." He was speaking of course about Optimus, the Autobot leader had been struck by an energy burst from the Allspark when he foolishly approached it one orn back on Cybertron, the burst of energy had created a new spark inside of Prime's spark chamber. The infant's protoform had developed as a result of an abundance of materials from the specially graded energon 'sparked' Cybertronian's were expected to ingest during the gestation cycle. Of course the sparkling and its birth had been covered up so none of the other Autobot's suspected anything and to this day still didn't, a fact for which the medic was glad of as it would mean that the young mech whom had been sired by Optimus and the Allspark could be placed in great danger.

"But will Jazz be capable of carrying the protoform?" Prowl asked.

"He might experience some discomfort as the protoform continues to develop and I'll have to keep a constant watch on the sparkling's growth so it doesn't cause problems or interfere with any of Jazz's vital internals." Ratchet responded.

"Ugh did anyone get th' number of th' fragger that hit me?" Came a voice from behind the pair of them. Prowl recognised the voice immediately and glanced around the medic to see his bond-mate propped up on an elbow whilst his other clawed hand gripped his helm.

Ratchet turned to face the Solstice "I was beginning to wonder when you would finally join the land of the living." The medic stepped across to him pulling the portable scanner he always carried on him out of subspace and ran a quick systems scan upon the saboteur. He hummed when the results appeared upon the small screen in front of him.

"What's that supposed ta mean?" Jazz demanded.

"It means that both of you are doing well." The CMO responded as he double checked the results to make sure he hadn't missed anything the first time "now Optimus requires a report from the pair of you in regards to what happened but I want you both to get some rest before you do so." He aimed a stern look at Prowl when he said that as he knew how pedantic the tactician could get if something was not done or completed. The Hummer stepped across the room leaving the pair of them alone, Prowl watched him leave before his gaze settled upon the Solstice who was picking at the edges of the blue flexiseal covering his shoulder wound and the upper part of his chest. It was testament to how close he had been to losing his own life.

"You're in twice as much danger than I originally thought." Prowl began as he slipped off his berth and steadied himself against it, the action was met with a disapproving look from Ratchet who had looked up from what he was doing when he heard movement "and if the Decepticons should return and attack us whilst you're in the condition you are now, the results could be . . . ." He trailed off when he saw the look his bond-mate was giving him.

"I'm not completely helpless." Jazz snapped at him and Prowl flinched, he didn't mean to call the Solstice weak or incapable "I do happen ta have the capabilities ta defend maself Prowl, not forgettin' that I have friends who are willin' ta protect me, don't think this is just your concern."

"I know and I apologise." Prowl said trying to rectify his mistake without upsetting the Solstice even more "but I can't help this want to keep both you and our offspring safe."

"What happened with Barricade wasn't your fault, no manner of strategic thinkin' or pre-plannin' would have told us that he was goin' ta attack us today." The Solstice replied, his frame slumping slightly as the anger began to fade from his systems.

"It was I should have sensed him coming." Prowl told his bond-mate as his shoulders visibly slumped even his door wings injured as they were, drooped. Jazz glanced at him a somewhat startled expression upon his facial plates when his partner said this, Prowl looked at him curiously when he sensed the Solstice's change in demeanour.

"Ratch a question for ya?" Jazz asked as he glanced across to where the Hummer was sorting through some of his tools and checking them over. It was an old habit as the CMO knew from past experiences that the twins liked to use said medical tools for pranks whether upon the medic or one of their comrades.

"What is it now?" The medic demanded as he glanced at the Solstice.

"Don't get your gyros in a twist; I was just goin' ta ask that since Barricade is Prowl's brother would he have been able to sense the sparklin'?" Jazz inquired, Ratchet looked up from what he was doing and glanced at each of the bond-mates in turn.

"It's possible." The Hummer replied both Prowl and Jazz shared a concerned look, if Barricade knew about the sparkling it certainly could prove problematic as if and when Starscream came back to Earth with reinforcements, they could use the infant Cybertronian as barter against them all. But determination suddenly emanating from Jazz told Prowl that no Decepticon was going to lay a finger on their offspring.

"Not what I wanted to hear." Prowl said as he gripped the edge of the berth, he could feel the familiar ache of processor freeze as his battle computer and logic centre began presenting him once again with numerous variables, possibilities and odds and he cursed inwardly at his creators for having the damn things installed when he was a youngling.

It appeared that Ratchet could sense the inward battle that the tactician was currently facing and spoke to the pair of them "Alright I want you both back in recharge which means 'you' have to get your aft on that berth before I weld you to it." The medic none to gently poked Prowl in the chest plates when he said 'you' and the tactician knew he had to oblige least he risked getting his aft welded to the berth he had just vacated, he pulled himself up onto it whilst being closely watched by his bond-mate. Prowl slid down to lay upon his left side making sure that the injured door wing was resting in a comfortable position before finally powering down his systems and falling into recharge, Jazz continued to watch him for a little while longer before the CMO stepped up alongside him and his weary gaze fell upon the Hummer "get some rest Jazz." The pale yellow mech stepped away from the berth and toward his office, the Solstice watched him go before returning his attention to his mate recharging opposite him, if it hadn't been for the energon transfusion he was currently hooked up to he would have slipped off his berth and joined Prowl on the one he was currently lying upon. But as it was, he was stuck where he was. With no choice but to remain on his berth, he laid back down on his back and turned his head to glance in his bond-mate's direction and watched him recharge before his systems finally cycled down and he slipped into a much needed rest.

**A few days later ….**

It had been a couple of days since Prowl and Jazz's skirmish with Barricade, and since then security around the base had been tightened as now they knew what the Decepticon's intentions were and hopefully the increased measures would keep out that pipsqueak Frenzy. Those that were out on patrol were told to keep an optic out for the shock trooper and not to engage him on their own should they locate him, although finding the Decepticon became a personal mission for the twins every time they were on patrol in the city. Security had even been tightened upon the humans they were allied with in case Barricade chose to prey upon one of them and try and use them as leverage against them in order to get what he wanted. Optimus wasn't sure how he would deal with the situation should it come to it as he knew he couldn't allow human lives to be endangered or extinguished, but then again he also couldn't sacrifice the life of his chief of special operations either. He was certain that if they should lose Jazz again that Prowl would rather follow him to the matrix than lead a life of loneliness.

The monitor in front of him constantly read out input from the small number of sky spies that had been strategically placed in the planet's atmosphere, they had been programmed to remain invisible so they did not attract the attention of the humans who were so easy to become frightened and hostile about such frivolous things. He heard footsteps behind him and he glanced in one of the darkened monitors to see the yellow form of Ratchet step into the room.

"What's on your mind?" The Hummer asked as he stood beside his CO.

"Where would you like to start?" Prime inquired as he briefly glanced down at the chartreuse mech before his gaze wandered back to the monitor screens in front of him, the command centre was almost eerily quiet as the skeleton night shift went about their duties "but the one thing that is bugging me is why would Barricade chose to attack now? It's been four years since Ironhide ran him off the interstate."

"We'll never understand the 'cons but I can bet that Prowl's thinkin' on the same wave length, all I've had for the past few days is Jazz complaining in my audios about the lack of attention he's gettin' and Jazz hardly ever complains not even when he steps into my med-bay with a severed limb." Ratchet replied as he cringed at the last time the saboteur stepped into his med-bay for one of his statutory check ups and complained loudly about how much of a glitch head his bond-mate was, the medic had come close to cuffing the Solstice round the back of the helm with one of his faithful wrenches just to silence him.

Optimus chuckled at that, Jazz was a well known socialite as he was rarely ever seen without company, he knew that to be denied attention and affection from ones bond-mate would be enough to grate on anyone's nerves "And how is our resident Solstice?"

Ratchet folded his arms across his chest "Being a real pain in the aft since he knows his transformation circuits are going to off-line themselves very shortly and is faced with being stuck here all the time, I'm thinkin' that's partially why Prowl's shut himself in his office so he can get a few hours of reprieve from him."

"And how is the sparkling?" Prime asked smiling, he knew he would have to keep an optic out for Jazz becoming foul tempered with anyone, especially Ironhide who had no qualms about pulling a weapon upon the younger mech. He had done it before to threaten him into behaving properly not that it had worked, Optimus had been forced to step in-between the pair of them before the weapons specialist opened fire and caused any injury to the saboteur.

"The exoskeleton of the protoform is beginning to develop nicely and the sparkling is also doing well thanks to you." Ratchet responded.

"It was the least I could do." Optimus told him "after all I'm getting accustomed to the idea of having a sparkling running around the base although it will not be the first time." He could recall the mayhem Bumblebee had caused when he was a sparkling and the struggles he faced when growing up through the time of war.

"No it won't and I pray to Primus that this sparkling will be like Prowl and not Jazz." Ratchet said with a smile "he's enough to handle."

"That he is." Optimus replied then a light began blinking upon the console in front of him and he pressed the control "Prime here."

_::Your never gonna believe what we've got.::_ Sideswipe's singsonged over the comm.'s, he sounded awfully pleased with himself and the pair wondered what the twins had been up to for the red Lamborghini to sound exceptionally happy.

"What have you glitch heads been up to?" Ratchet inquired.

_::What makes you think we've done anything wrong?:: _The red front-liner asked.

The CMO glanced at Optimus "Because the pair of you are notorious for getting up to no good that's why."

_::Okay so we may have got a little scratched up.:: _Sideswipe said which only started his twin off on a rant about how much time it was going to take him to get rid of the scratches and polish up a decent finish_ ::but it was well worth it, we got Barricade off-line and tied up.::_

"You have Barricade in custody?" Ratchet asked not quite sure he had heard the twins properly the first time.

_::Need your audios checkin' doc? We snuck up on him whilst he was powered down and snagged him before he could make a run for it.::_ The red twin responded whilst his brother was still bitching in the background.

"That's good to hear but remind me to grill the pair of you when I see you for disobeying an order." Optimus replied "but for now relay your co-ordinates and Ironhide, Wheeljack and I will meet you there." Prime knew from the length of time that he had known the twins that there would be very little chance of them obeying a direct order if they knew they could get the job done.

_::Yes sir.:: _The red twin responded before transmitting their co-ordinates and signing off, Optimus turned to leave the room when Ratchet spoke up.

"I assume you're going to take him to the other stronghold?" The medic inquired.

"We cannot risk him being in the same base as Jazz after their most recent skirmish." Optimus replied then stepped out of the control room, but not before he called Ironhide and Wheeljack to join him leaving Ratchet in charge of the control room. The medic glanced toward the monitors displaying several scenes outside of the base, he knew that now they had Barricade in custody they could find out where Starscream had disappeared to and what his plans were once he returned. Although there was the chance that he might not say anything at all despite looking down Ironhide's cannons. There was only one bot who might get through to him and he was sure he'd rather kill Barricade rather than be put in a room with him, particularly after he tried to kill his bond-mate. However there was information that needed to be gathered and he hoped that Prime and Ironhide were enough of an intimidating force so the tactician wouldn't have to face his own brother again so quickly.

_Yep if you read Reign of Starscream, Ironhide did run Barricade off the interstate and into a stone column. I also realised looking back on this chapter that Jazz did a Sam by kicking Frenzy like a football. Lol couldn't resist._


	5. Prisoner

_I wanna thank **Elita** **One**, **Bluebird** **Soaring**, **Supermoi**, **blood shifter**, **blind**_**foxx**, **Yami**-**Yugi3** and **DJ-Grey-Ghost** for their reviews and anyone else I might have missed, I'm glad you all liked the last chapter and hope this one meets your expectations too. And a big thank you to **dark_daebereth** over at live journal who pointed out a big flaw to me. Thanks hun. _

_**Warnings**: Just Barricade and his foul mouth which I plan to rinse out with soap._

_ Slight Ironhide x Ratchet if you squint really hard_

_'Blah' – thoughts_

_::Blah:: - Radio Communication_

_:/blah\: - Inter. comm._

_::/Blah\\:: Bond communication_

"_Blah" - Inter-dimmensional speech_

Barricade had to admit that he did not expect the Autobot twins to creep up on him and take him out before he realised what was going on. He managed to relay to Frenzy (whom had been checking one of the old Sector 7 research facilities they had stumbled upon) in the few scant seconds of consciousness he had, to remain hidden and wait for his signal least they both end up getting caught. He had been towed in his unconscious state to what appeared to be a warehouse, the windows were all reinforced with steel bars and the flimsy doors had been replaced. The shock trooper glanced about the large space and spotted a few other cells which made him realise that the Autobots had certainly prepared themselves for the capture of any Decepticon that happened to cross their path. His audio receptors easily picked up the faint sound of humming and knew that there was a high possibility that the cells had been reinforced with a high electrical charge to prevent easy escape.

The shock trooper had already sat through several sessions of the pompous Autobot leader asking the same old questions whilst his obedient attack dog stood growling at him in the background. Barricade had thrown several snarled insults back at Optimus Prime refusing to answer any questions aimed at him, a few of the insults had earned him a couple of warning shots from the weapons specialist. But he didn't let them faze him and simply made a few comments about the black bots behaviour before stepping into the shadows and shutting down his vocaliser. When he was not being 'interrogated' by the Autobots, the Mustang took pleasure in frightening the humans that guarded his cell leaving some a shaking mess until a squad of army rangers took over then his taunts went unheard. Although he had a feeling that if the Autobots didn't need him alive, those humans would have certainly filled him full of sabot rounds by now like they had done to Blackout and Brawl in Mission City four years ago.

However today he found he had a new pass time, the stuck up tower bot known as Mirage was with the humans and Barricade had hurled every insult and taunt at the spy, but the blue and white Ford GT simply ignored him. However the shock trooper knew that a few things he had said about the towers struck a nerve with the spy, he watched in satisfaction every time when the blue and white's hands curled up into fists and a small frown marred the normally calm and collected facial plates. The Decepticon scout was currently pacing his cell back and forth like a caged animal before he settled his blood red gaze upon the Autobot spy, he suddenly wished he could sink his claws into his armour like he had done with his brother's glitch head of a bond-mate. Speaking of his sibling, the tactician had put up a poor fight the last time they had run into each other and he had delighted in nearly tearing off one of those infuriating door wings from his back, a considered design flaw he had gladly got rid of from his own frame back on Cybertron. He knew the pair of them were hiding something and when he had pressed the lithe frame of his brother's bonded up against the concrete column back at the industrial site, he could feel a new presence that comprised of his sibling's imprint residing deep inside the silver mech's chest. He paused in his pacing as he considered this then a small sneer curled the edge of his lip components as it sunk in; the pair of them had created a sparkling which may have been imbued with powers from the Allspark shard that also resided in the Solstice's spark chamber. He laughed inwardly at that thought, the Autobots had once again handed them victory upon a silver platter as sparkling's were weak and frail creatures incapable of defending themselves, although he did have to consider its creators. But then again once the infant had been captured its parents were capable of doing unpredictable things in order to retrieve their offspring even if it meant their giving own lives or those of their comrades.

The shock trooper was brought out of his dark musings when he heard a double set of footsteps, he was about to prepare himself to go another round with the Autobot's leader when he felt his brother's presence and he smiled wickedly. He glanced toward the door way as it rolled open and the exact opposite of his paint job stepped into the room followed by the gold Lamborghini who settled a reproachful glare upon him. Barricade sneered at the front-line warrior before tracking his brother's movements with four red optics, he watched as Prowl stepped up alongside Mirage and spoke quietly to the spy. The Decepticon scout saw a small look of relief flit across the blue and white's facial plates as he moved from his position and made his way out of the warehouse, the shock trooper then watched as the tactician dismissed the humans who had also been standing guard for the better part of the day. The army rangers shared a single hesitant look amongst themselves but none the less stepped out of the room as well, one human stopped in his tracks and glanced over at the Decepticon before his gaze settled upon the Dodge Charger, then he left as well leaving Barricade, Prowl and Sunstreaker in the room.

"Sunstreaker you're also dismissed." Prowl said unexpectedly that had both the shock trooper and the front line warrior looking at him in surprise.

"No offence Prowl but not a chance, I'm not leaving you alone with that slagger." The gold Lamborghini replied as he shifted his gaze from the tactician to the shock trooper.

However Prowl was not one to be dissuaded "That was an order Sunstreaker." The front line warrior hesitated at first before turning and stepping out of the room, the tactician waited for the door to cycle shut again before he settled his gaze upon the black and white frame of his brother.

"Hello brother." Barricade greeted as he moved to the front of his cell.

"You are not my brother, he died a long time ago." Prowl responded as their gazes met.

Barricade smiled "Deny it all you want Autobot but I'm still him, I'm just not as weak and frail as he once was." The shock trooper flexed claw like digits before he proceeded to one corner of his cell and sat down in a crouch with his back against the wall.

"He may have been weak and frail but he was no monster." The Dodge Charger said with a tint of anger in the tone of his voice, he flared his door wings to make himself appear bigger, however he quickly reined in his temper and blew air out through his intakes to calm himself, he would not allow Barricade to intimidate him by dredging up the past "however I am not here to reminisce about the past with the likes of you."

"Ah yes you're here to 'interrogate' me, do you Autobots even know the term?" The Mustang inquired "it involves pain, mind games and torture."

Prowl folded his arms across his chest as he regarded the black and white form of the shock trooper "I'm well aware of what is involved."

"Of course you do, you've sent plenty of your comrades into Decepticon hands when you've believed your plans have been flawless." The Decepticon scout rumbled "even your own mate has ended up in our hands a few times because of your errors, speaking of which . . . ." The black and white mech pushed himself up and stalked toward his sibling " . . . how is he fairing after I was awarded the opportunity to sink my claws into his armour and watch him squirm and scream in pain?" A satisfied smirk curled one side of his lip components as he watched the Dodge Charger clench his hands into fists and the door wings upon the others back rose up into a sharp 'V' position. The tactician attempted to push aside the guilt and blame he already felt about the damage his mate incurred because he had not been quick enough on his feet to avoid the blow from the lethal melee weapon. He quickly managed to calm himself once again, he could not and would not allow Barricade to get to him through using ruthless mind games.

"I can promise you, you will not get that opportunity again." Prowl told him.

The smirk upon the scout's lip components changed to a cruel smile "Hmm we'll see." Barricade stepped back into the shadows and sat down upon the cold hard floor, red optics never leaving the Autobot stood before him and knew he was going to start asking him the same questions he had heard being asked the last few days "ask them but you won't get an answer from me, I have no idea what Starscream's plans are or where that snivelling coward has run off too." In fact that was not entirely the truth, Starscream had taken what information he could get from Frenzy's off-line form in regards to the Allspark and the human boy before taking his leave of the planet. What the shock trooper did not know was that the Raptor had plans to use the information he had gleaned from the tiny hacker's memory banks to construct a new Allspark and use it to restore Cybertron to its former glory rather than gather reinforcements. Barricade could not tell for certain whether Starscream would return to this planet in the foreseeable future, but he had a feeling that there would be a few if not several Decepticons who would want to come to Earth so they exact their revenge upon the one who had killed their leader.

"Starscream would not take his leave of this planet unless he had something planned." The Dodge Charger pointed out.

"Reinforcements perhaps." Barricade responded "after all the Allspark was not completely destroyed as we first thought and its retrieval will not take much." The Mustang watched as his sibling's door wings gave a small interpretable twitch and he smiled "a task I will be most willing to carry out if only to kill your bond-mate with my own hands, slowly and painfully." Then he added cruelly "but not before I extinguish the life of the abomination growing inside of his spark chamber. What possessed you to think you could hide its existence from me?" So Ratchet had been right about the possibility that Barricade could sense the developing sparkling.

"To protect his existence from the very same threat you have just made." Prowl told the shock trooper "you will not lie a single claw on either of them, not while I still function."

"Then to solve that, I will have to tear your spark out of your chest first." Barricade responded as he flexed claw like fingers "your death will make your mate a much easier target to hunt down and kill."

The tactician fought the urge to reach into his subspace and draw his rifle but that would show that the taunts were getting to him, however the overwhelming desire to protect his mate and offspring was easily overriding his logic circuits. Normally taunts from Decepticons usually did not affect him but he was beginning to wander if Jazz's currents moods were to blame since the saboteur was not too happy with being confined to the base, the Dodge had tried blocking as much of the emotional barrage as he could from filtering through the bond from his mate. But some times the stress was simply too great and he had no choice but to allow them to hit him like a tsunami.

Prowl was suddenly grateful when he felt the familiar buzz of his comm. link pull him out of his current train of thoughts, he stepped backwards as he answered it "Yes Ironhide?"

_::Prime wants ya back at the base pronto.::_ The weapons specialist responded.

The Dodge Charger glanced over at the Mustang only to receive a cold stare in return "And Barricade?"

_::I'm on ma way down ta see if I can get 'im ta talk.::_ Ironhide replied. The tactician knew that with Ironhide on his way down and Sunstreaker already here, the duo were very likely to try different tactics in order to get Barricade to talk, ones that usually involved physical violence. Prowl knew that he should care about what the two warriors were capable of when not restrained but a small part of him felt no concern for the Mustang's well being as the monster in the cage was not the brother he once knew.

"Understood I'm on my way back." Prowl said before switching off his comm. link, he turned to leave the room when he heard a small chuckle escape the darker mech's lip components. He turned to face Barricade and saw amusement flit across the Decepticon's facial plates.

"Prime is no better than Megatron if he plans to unleash that attack dog of his and allow that psychopathic murderer in here." Barricade rumbled from his corner, Prowl did not grant him a reply as he turned once again and stepped out of the room and into the corridor where Sunstreaker was stood with Major Lennox's team. The tactician ordered the gold Lamborghini and the humans to keep a close watch on the shock trooper before making his way out of the building, he cycled a deep intake of air and sighed deeply. That certainly could have gone better. He glanced toward the road and could see Ironhide turning into the entrance, the weapons specialist had certainly not wasted any time getting there. Prowl transformed into his alt. mode and drove toward the exit passing the GMC Top Kick truck, he pulled out onto the main road before heading back toward the base.

**A couple of days later ….**

It had been the same routine for the past few days where Prowl would go down to the holding area hoping to pry answers from the shock trooper, but all he was rewarded with was snarled insults and what he planned to do to certain Autobots once he escaped his confinement. The twins who had accompanied him the last couple of times delivered their own threats of dismemberment to the Decepticon if he didn't shut his mouth plates. Sunstreaker had almost reached the point during one of the sessions where he was a shove away from disabling the locks on the cell door and disembowelling the shock trooper there and then. But regardless of whether he was threatened with physical damage or termination, Barricade refused to tell them anything and Prowl knew Optimus was one step away from ordering Ratchet to put the Decepticon into an indefinite stasis lock. That coupled with an unexpected planet fall a couple of days ago hadn't helped matters, Mirage had been dispatched to the site, but all that he had discovered was a steaming trench and faint energy readings that neither pinpointed toward an Autobot or Decepticon.

The white and black Dodge Charger keyed in the code to his office and wearily stepped inside only to be surprised to see Jazz sat on the edge of the desk facing the door, Prowl was somewhat relieved to see his bond-mate there as it meant he would not be completely favouring work over him and his presence might soothe his inner turmoil's. But he also knew that having the Solstice's presence in the room could mean that the reports awaiting his attention certainly wouldn't get looked at tonight. He trudged reluctantly around to the other side and flopped unceremoniously into the chair completely aware that his mate's blue visor had tracked him from the door to the chair, he scrubbed a hand over tired facial plates but refused to reach for any of the data-pads sitting in a neat pile on the side Jazz wasn't occupying. Suddenly a mug of warm energon was pushed into his view and he glanced up gratefully at the Solstice.

"I'm sorry about tonight." Prowl said as he slipped one hand round the mug feeling the warmth emanating from within.

"S'lright love, I understand the last few days haven't bin kind ta ya." Jazz replied. Prowl knew that without the bond they usually shared he was unable to tell whether his bond-mate was truly unhappy about the turn of events. Not too mention with his current mood swings at the moment meant that anything that didn't swing his way, he certainly let everyone know about it. Suddenly the saboteur slipped off the desk and Prowl was beginning to consider that maybe Jazz was mad at him for ruining their evening together, his mate stepped around the desk to sit on the edge nearest to the tactician and reached out to cup one of his cheeks and smooth his thumb over the warm metal plates. The tactician shuttered his optics and reached up to clasp the hand resting against his cheek and nuzzled the palm lovingly "you can't let what he says get ta ya love."

The Dodge Charger snapped his optic shutters open and stared blankly at the wall opposite him, he forgot how easy it was for Jazz to read him sometimes "I know."

"So don't let it." The Solstice told him "whatever he said to ya let it go over ya head, he's not gonna make good on any his threats whilst he's behind bars."

"I know that too." Prowl responded as he removed the hand that had been resting against his cheek and brushed his thumb across the armour plated knuckles "it's just that we don't have the resources to hold him indefinitely and there is still a high probability that he could escape from confinement."

"Not on the twins watch he won't." Jazz told him, he reached up and titled his mate's head so their gazes finally met, he wished that the bond wasn't muted on his end so he could probe the tactician's thoughts and bring whatever was bugging him into the light. The Solstice had been feeling his own concerns and fears over their developing sparkling after the skirmish with Barricade which almost cost him not only his life but that of the unborn infant's as well. Jazz had become increasingly concerned that he might not be able to protect his offspring from the Decepticons if and when they returned to the planet and he had a feeling that Prowl was also having these doubts, but he had decided that he would not let his fear get the best of him. After all they had successfully raised Bumblebee from sparkling to adult with only a few hitches along the way.

"He also said things." Prowl began feeling his temper beginning to flare up as he recalled some of the taunts and threats he had received from the shock trooper "things I will not allow to come to pass, not while there is still enough spark left in my chest." The saboteur knew that whatever Barricade had said to his mate had struck a nerve with the tactician and although Prowl rarely allowed anything to affect him, his failure to protect those that he cared most about he very much took to spark despite Jazz's reassurances that he was fine and their developing sparkling was very much alive. The Solstice gently gripped a black forearm in a gesture of reassurance and once again the Charger's temper subsided and Jazz offered his mate a genuine smile "what would I do without you?"

"Crash an' burn." Jazz responded, Prowl smiled and shook his head in amusement at the Solstice's response before he sat back and picked the mug up with both hands. He took a few sips of the cooled liquid before placing it down upon the desk and pushing it away from him in disgust "shoulda drank it when ya had the chance love, it wouldn't be cold."

"Then we shall have to stop by the recreation room to grab another before heading back to quarters then won't we?" Prowl said as he pushed himself up out of his seat and offered a hand out to his bond-mate, Jazz took the proffered arm to pull himself up and linked his arm with the Charger before they both headed out of the office. Prowl took a moment to lock the door then steered Jazz in the direction of the rec. room. When they finally reached the recreation room, Jazz palmed the panel on the side of the doors and they whooshed open, the lights were on at a soft setting inside instead of the usual glaring type that were used during the day, the altered lighting allowed the saboteur to disengage the locking sequence for his visor and push it up into the small compartment at the front of his helm. A small smile appeared upon the saboteur's lip components when he saw the pale yellow form of Ratchet crashed out one of the sofas whilst the large black form of Ironhide was sat down by the Hummer's feet, the Solstice felt his bond-mate detach himself so he could head over to the dispensers whilst Jazz headed across to the couch positioned next to the one Ironhide and the CMO had commandeered.

"Mech looks like he's about to drop dead." The weapons specialist rumbled. Jazz glanced over his shoulder at that and over at his lover who was leaning against the wall, his door wings upon his back were all but drooping now and his usual stiff posture was all but a shadow as the events of the day finally weighed him down. The saboteur was about to ask the weapons specialist how today's session with Barricade had gone but decided against it, after all his original idea had been to convince Prowl to relax and take his mind off aforementioned Decepticon before he worked himself into stasis.

"Bin one of those days." The saboteur said as he watched the tactician step back from the dispenser with two mugs of energon and make his way over, Jazz took one of the proffered mugs into his hands and sipped the pink liquid contentedly. The Dodge Charger sat next to his bond-mate and allowed himself to slouch although his door wings didn't appreciate being crushed beneath his bulk and quickly voiced their discomfort making him reluctantly sit up fully "so 'Hide woulda do ta Ratch? Hit him over the helm wit' a wrench or somethin'?"

The GMC Top Kick Truck chuckled at that "As tempting as it is sometimes, no I didn't."

"He looks almost peaceful when he's rechargin'." The Solstice smiled as he glanced at the CMO, it was rare for many bots to see Ratchet in such a state of peace as usually all they got to see was the gruff, hard exterior that threatened them with bodily harm or being reformatted into kitchen appliances should they irritate the slag out of him. Suddenly a somewhat uncomfortable feeling settled in the centre of his chest and he whined slightly at the discomfort his growing sparkling had decided to bestow upon him.

The Dodge Charger snapped himself out of the haze that had started to settle in his processors when he heard the small whining noise escape his bond-mate's vocaliser, he glanced across to him with a concerned look upon his facial plates. He could see Ironhide was all but ready to shake Ratchet awake should Jazz need him, Prowl watched as the Solstice rested his index and middle finger upon what appeared to be the problematic area and gently rub small massaging circles upon his plating.

"Jazz?" Prowl inquired when he saw the look of discomfort upon the saboteur's facial plates.

"'M fine." He mumbled in response, he sent out small gentle magnetic pulses in hope that he could convince the sparkling to shift its tiny protoform from whichever uncomfortable position it had decided to move into. Finally the discomfort disappeared and Jazz let loose a relieved sigh from his vents "s'okay, I'm good now."

"What happened?" His mate inquired.

The saboteur turned a small glare on him "Your creation just decided to test the flexibility of the chamber its cocooned in."

"My creation?" Prowl inquired "as you have said so yourself several times that this sparkling is ours, not mine, not yours, ours." The sound of Ironhide chuckling at their expense reached their audios but neither shifted their gaze to him.

"Do you two really have to start bickering in here." Came the tired voice of Ratchet as he on-lined his systems. The CMO pushed himself stiffly into a sitting position and glared at the bonded pair sat across from them.

"We weren't bickerin' Ratch, just pointin' out a fact." Jazz replied after giving the CMO his best sheepish look he could muster.

The Hummer sat on the edge of the couch and shot the Solstice a pointed look "If it weren't for the fact you are 'sparked', my favourite wrench would have greeted your helm by now." Prowl glanced round his bond-mate and shot the medic a glare for even contemplating injuring his mate in his presence whilst Jazz simply shrugged his shoulders.

"Ya hav' ta catch me first." The saboteur said and Ratchet growled a warning in the back of his throat. Prowl cocked his head to the side in an imitation of a human rolling their eyes, Jazz, it appeared, had fallen into one of those moods where he would irritate the individual to the point where they either cracked or stormed out of the room. The Dodge Charger glanced toward the doors and wondered what the odds were to try and make his escape now without his bond-mate knowing, his battle computer unhelpfully pointed out that his odds were very slim and that he was better off staying here and mediating the situation before it got out of hand. The tactician was suddenly glad to hear the base siren sound wail as it prevented the altercation that had begun between Jazz and Ratchet from escalating.

"What the slag?" Ironhide demanded and proceeded out of the recreation room as Optimus announced for his own team and a select group of humans to make their way to the hangar bay. The three of them made their way to the hangar, Ratchet had to take a detour to the med-bay after being informed that he would need to pick up medical supplies for potential patients. They exited the subterranean levels and into the open bay where Optimus was stood with a team of humans from the military, several of them were packing their vehicles with ammunition whilst a couple of medical personnel secured their own supplies on the trucks.

"What's goin' on'?" Jazz inquired as he watched Sideswipe pace the entire length of the hangar back and forth in a nervous fit of energy.

"Sensors have picked up Mirage's emergency beacon and neither he or Sunstreaker are responding to hails." Optimus responded and the atmosphere in the hangar changed. Both Mirage and Sunstreaker had been on sentry duty at the holding complex and if they weren't responding to hails then it could only mean one thing; somehow Barricade had managed against all odds to escape his cell. Jazz subconsciously closed the gap between him and his bond-mate as both of them knew what the current situation dictated, Ironhide rolled out his weapons and flexed his fingers awaiting permission from the Prime to hunt down the two Decepticons that had injured their comrades. Ratchet appeared in the bay a few minutes later and Optimus turned to the group "Ratchet, Ironhide and myself will head to the holding complex, Prowl get onto Defence Secretary Keller and inform him of the situation, the rest of you . . . ."

"I refuse to stay here Optimus." Sideswipe told his leader and cutting him off mid-sentence "Sunny could be hurt and you know he'll be much calmer if I'm around."

"As much as I appreciate your concern for your twin Sideswipe, I'd prefer that you remain here." Prime responded calmly "if Barricade has escaped his cell which is a very high possibility, the base could potentially be his first objective and I refuse to allow a certain highly valued member of this unit to be left unprotected." The Solstice frowned disapprovingly at his leader whilst Sideswipe simply growled at the back of his throat before storming off. Jazz glanced in the direction the red Lamborghini had disappeared in knowing that Sideswipe would only disobey Optimus' orders and use one of the other exit routes to reach his twin. The silver mech cast Optimus a side long glance before heading back into the subterranean levels to locate the red twin and convince him that Sunstreaker was alright.

Prime watched his third in command also leave before turning back to the assembled group and ordering them to move out. The unit consisting of Autobots and humans alike headed off the base and moved as fast as the speeding laws would allow them to reach the holding complex a few miles away. It was an unusual convoy to see heading down the highway and yet, fours years later, none of the civilians had stepped forward to question why a supposedly non-existent base held an array of different vehicles from exotic sports cars to a semi Peter built truck. The concession of vehicles continued their journey and reached the complex in just over half an hour and when they arrived, the area looked as though a battle had certainly taken place. The ground and the trees were pocket marked with laser burns and the building hadn't faired any better, the once sturdy doors looked as though someone had ripped them from their hinges.

Both Optimus and Ironhide transformed into their bipedal modes and moved across to the building with the military troops and flattened themselves against the wall, the humans signalled each other to get into position whilst the black form of the weapons specialist peered round the doors and into the gloom of the long corridor that led to warehouse. He critically scanned the area with optics and sensors before giving the heads up to Optimus who edged round the doorway and swung into the corridor, he spotted a couple of slumped forms upon the floor and felt his spark sink when his scanners registered that the two humans were dead. A small team of humans broke away from their group to secure the two men whilst Prime and Ironhide lead the others down the dark corridor and to the main holding area, Optimus could not understand why the security system had not gone off in the warehouse's small control room unless the controls had been tampered with and made a mental note that he would have to get Mirage to look into it then go over the data with Jazz.

The next set of doors were hanging off the last set of their hinges and folded across each other blocking the way in, Ironhide moved into position on one side and pointed his cannons at the ready whilst Optimus grabbed one of the doors and moved it out of the way with a loud screech of metal and groan of twisted hinges. The military unit swung fearlessly into the room setting up positions and securing the area before giving the all clear for Prime and Ironhide to step into the room, the two Autobots immediately made their way across to where Sunstreaker and Mirage were, then gave the call for Ratchet and the humans own medical unit to make their way inside. The blue and white form of Mirage glanced over to see his comrades and visibly brightened when he saw them before his gaze fell upon the off-line form of the gold Lamborghini. Ratchet made his appearance in the room a few minutes and quickly made his way over.

"See to Sunstreaker first." The Ford GT told the medic when the Hummer pointed his portable scanner in his direction, Ratchet frowned at that as Mirage was sporting some nasty looking claw marks on his left flank that looked awfully familiar but complied none the less.

"Mirage what happened?" Optimus inquired of the special ops agent.

The blue and white mech glanced across to him and winced when the action pulled upon his injury "We were surprised."

"By that little glitch Frenzy?" Ironhide asked with amusement in his tone of voice, the spy pointed a light glare in his direction.

"He wasn't alone." Mirage responded as he glanced back at the red and blue frame of the Autobot's leader "Optimus the planet fall a couple of days ago . . . . it was Ravage."

Prime's azure optics narrowed as this information was conveyed to him "Are you absolutely sure?"

"Yes sir." The spy replied as he watched Ratchet place his scanner upon the concrete floor and hesitantly touch the tip of the device wedged in the gold Lamborghini's right thigh armour, he wrapped his hand round it and gave it a small tug but the device refused to give way. The medic picked his scanner up again and ran an analysis of the strange looking implement and frowned, he had never seen anything like this before and from its design, it was definitely of human origins.

"Ratchet?" Prime inquired.

"It appears to be a device designed to deliver an intensive electromagnetic charge that renders all systems inoperable." The medic responded "I need to remove it now before it affects his spark." Prime nodded and the CMO removed the necessary tools to extract the device from subspace.

"My question is how the little runt managed to get his hands on that kind of device as no way would one of the humans fire it at one of our own least they wanna start a conflict." Ironhide said as he glanced across to where Major Lennox and his team were being patched up by their own medics, Sergeant Epps was complaining loudly over the fact a tiny robot had managed to get the better of him whilst a couple of others boldly told him to shut up and that he wasn't the only one who had been 'scared shitless by a friggin' giant panther.'

"We had a break in, in one of our old research facilities and several of those devices were taken along with valuable data." Came a new voice and the Autobots turned to see Agent Reginald Simmons step into the room with his hands clasped behind his back. Ironhide visibly bristled at the thought that the disbanded group that had been Sector Seven had kept weapons that could bring them down, from them.

"What information?" Optimus inquired as he spared Ratchet a glance to check on the medic's progress. The human agent was about to tell him that it was classified but then remembered this was a highly intelligent alien life form he was talkin too who could quite easily hack the internet and find out himself, that and Optimus had good relations with the President and Defence Secretary Keller and all it would take was one call to get the authorisation he needed to get him to talk.

"Research files mostly regarding that artefact of yours and on NBE-1." Simmons replied as he glanced round at the carnage that had erupted inside of the warehouse, he and the other ex-sector seven individuals had already come up with a cover story should any of the events that had transpired here appear upon terrestrial television.

"His name was Megatron." Will Lennox corrected but Simmons simply ignored the army ranger, the pair had never really been on good terms since Lennox had slammed the agent up against one of the SUV's demanding that Sam be taken to his car.

"Got it." The Hummer announced as the device was pulled free from Sunstreaker's thigh and he placed it down beside him so he could patch up the gold Lamborghini's wound.

"I would like to have a copy of the information that was taken to determine if there is anything significant that we should be concerned about." Optimus told Simmons.

"On condition that we be allowed to have access to the information regarding this . . . sparkling." The human replied as he rose a single ebony eyebrow at the Autobot leader. Optimus' optic ridges furrowed in a frown whilst Ironhide's cannons crackled to life, the weapons specialist refused to allow the infant Cybertronian to become an interest of scientific study and he knew Prime was thinking along those lines through the subtle changes in body language.

The semi Peter built truck regarded the human before him as he folded his arms across his armoured chest "That permission is not mine to give."

"Ugh what the frag hit me?" Sunstreaker groaned as his systems finally rebooted themselves and came back on-line, each of his limbs felt heavy and he kept receiving error messages until his systems had the chance to orient themselves. He flicked his optical sensors on-line and un-shuttered his optic shutters and turned his head to the side where he could see Mirage being attended to by Ratchet.

"You keep that aft of yours on the floor or I'll weld you to it." The Hummer growled at him as he closed the wounds temporarily so the spy could at least transform. The gold Lamborghini was about to open his mouth and tell Ratchet that his threat was useless as the floor was not metal but concrete, however he quickly opted for the smartest option and kept quiet.

_::/Sunny you're alright?\\:: _Came Sideswipe's voice through their bond.

_::/What do you think aft head?\\:_: The gold Lamborghini growled back at his twin.

_::/Hey no need for that, I was worried ya know when ya didn't respond to my calls.\\::_ The red Lamborghini responded with a slight tint of hurt in the tone of his voice. A sudden wave of guilt wrapped itself around Sunstreaker's spark, he sent weak pulses of reassurance to his brother whose own spark had been radiating genuine worry and concern for his welfare. However those feelings quickly turned into ones of amusement on Sideswipe's end of the bond _::/can't believe ya got surprised by that little runt Frenzy, Sunny ya getting' old.\\::_

_::/Shut up slagtard, like you could have done better.\\::_ Sunstreaker snarled at his twin as he attempted to sit up and managed, only for a wave of vertigo to nearly floor him again.

_::/I probably could have done . . . uh oh Wheeljack has finally detached himself from his lab and found something new to tinker with an' the infamous couple are arguing again.\\::_ Sideswipe said.

_::/And your tellin' me this why?\\_:: Sunstreaker inquired.

_::/Come on Sunny I know your smarter than that.\\::_ Sideswipe replied _::/Wheeljack plus something new equals boom which will then put the Hatchet in a foul temper we can take advantage of once you're fixed, that an' we won't get punished if Jazz gets Prowl to glitch.\\::_

_::/You're a moron, you know that.\\::_ The gold Lamborghini told his twin.

_::/Takes one to know one.\\::_ The red Lamborghini responded :_:/gonna go, the scary silver one is workin' himself up into a fine show of temper and I wanna split before I unintentionally get involved.\\::_

Sunstreaker felt his twin's presence fade just as Ratchet was calling for his attention "Sorry Ratchet, my idiot of a glitch head brother decided he wanted my attention."

"And dare I ask what trouble he's in back at the base?" The CMO inquired as he checked over the Lamborghini's vitals, he then checked to make sure that the temporary welds would hold when the front-line warrior transformed into vehicle mode and back again.

"None." The gold Lamborghini replied although knowing Sideswipe he was bound to be up to something as usual that would involve a prank on an unsuspecting bot, repairs if they incurred any injuries whilst running away from the prank victim. Then spending a ridiculous amount of hours carrying out a punishment that Prowl would bestow upon them and if Sideswipe was right about Prowl and Jazz arguing, there was no doubt the tactician would probably call for a firing squad to be assembled instead, should the Solstice manage to put his bond-mate in one of his rare fool moods.

"Hmm." Ratchet hummed as he raised a single optic ridge, he debated internally whether to believe the front-line warrior or not as he knew the red hellion well enough that he would not be sat idle back at the base, however he decided to believe him for now as he pushed himself up onto his feet and turned to face Optimus "we're good to leave."

"Major Lennox are your men ready to roll out?" Prime asked the army ranger who had finished organising his own men, Lennox nodded in acknowledgement and Optimus turned to his own team "let's head for home." The four of them nodded before heading outside of the warehouse, then with some difficulty because of their wounds both Sunstreaker and Mirage managed to transform into their vehicle modes, Optimus, Ironhide and Ratchet followed shortly and the five of them led the procession away from the holding complex and back toward the base and the chaos that awaited them there.

_I had to have a little Prowl n Barricade interaction in this chapter and finally call out Jazz's insecurities regarding their sparkling which will appear soon I promise once I get the next couple of chapters out! And Ravage has made his way to Earth which can't bode well and his appearance is based off his movie one as I think its completely bad ass and scary._


	6. Unexpected findings

_Once again I want to thank those people have reviewed and added this story to their favourites! Again not much happens in this chapter except for a small surprise and not the kind ya'll be thinking of. Sorry but that event is still a couple of chapters away As usual I've tried to wheedle out the spelling and grammatical errors. Anyway onwards and forwards!_

_**Warnings**: slight slash ahead_

_'Blah' – thoughts_

_::Blah:: - Radio Communication_

_:/blah\: - Inter. comm._

_::/Blah\\:: Bond communication_

"_Blah" - Inter-dimmensional speech_

_Joor - Hour_

It had been several weeks since he had been captured by the Autobots and escaped from their so called holding area. During that time he and Frenzy had secured a base where they could carry out any required maintenance or fix any injuries the Mustang had acquired through small skirmishes with the Autobots on his travels, especially a pair of Lamborghini's who made it their personal mission to hunt him down and damage him as much as possible. It was a nigh impossibility to get any where near the Autobot base now since they had upped the security around its perimeter. The appearance of Ravage had taken him by surprise but it was pleasant to know that further Decepticon company would be arriving on Earth shortly.

However none of the aforementioned could compare to currently being ceaselessly rained upon which was rating next to getting stuck in muddy trenches, or his paint nearly blistering and peeling off his armoured plating as a result of the extremely hot weather. Getting stuck in muddy ditches was something he did not want to have to repeat again as the last time it had occurred, he had swerved off the road and into a ditch. It had been nigh impossible for him to get out so he had to resort to transforming into his bipedal mode to escape since Frenzy had offered no help. In fact the little glitch had galloped off to the nearest shelter and refused to move despite the threats of bodily harm. Barricade had taught him a lesson by making the small hacker walk back to the base in the pouring rain for the lack of assistance, since then the small 'con proved somewhat useful when he got himself stuck in sticky situations despite his small size. Thankfully there had been no further incidents like the aforementioned as the shock trooper turned onto the disused dirt track that led to another abandoned air force hangar, the weather had grown in momentum since he started out that morning with lightning flashing across the darkened sky and thunder rumbling threateningly overhead. He was distinctly beginning to hate this planet and its unpredictable weather patterns, he had been caught completely unaware whilst he and Frenzy had been scouting another deserted research facility.

The black and white Mustang pulled up in the entrance of the aircraft hangar and after ejecting Frenzy from his innards to which the smaller Decepticon protested profusely, he transformed and stood just shy of the door rail with arms folded across his broad chest, the smaller silver 'con scuttled about the aircraft hangar looking for anywhere he could plug into to access the humans internet. Ravage looked up from his position in the corner and settled his brightly glowing orange optical sensor upon the shock trooper. H pushed himself up onto his all fours, then padded across the length of the hangar bay to where the black and white frame of the Mustang was stood.

_:: . . . . 'Scream to . . . . 'Cade . . . . come in.::_ Crackled a voice over his internal communications and the Saleen Mustang pushed himself off the wall and glanced out at the black sky. He felt almost perplexed by receiving a distorted communiqué from the silver flier, he truly had expected Starscream to return to Cybertron and use the information he had gleaned from Frenzy to start his own campaign in order to conquer an otherwise dead planet, and subdue the remaining Autobot resistance there rather than return to this planet.

"Barricade here." He responded, Ravage cocked his spiky head to glance up at the shock trooper whilst his spiny tail waved back and forth. Frenzy swivelled his head round to look at the Mustang and bounded across the hangar and leapt up onto the felinoid's back, Ravage didn't take too kindly in being used as a platform and bucked the small Decepticon off his back. The small silver boom box hit the floor with a loud clang of metal meeting concrete and cussed wildly at the panther like mechanism, Ravage sunk into a offensive stance and growled at his team-mate.

_::Status . . port.::_ Came the distorted voice of the Raptor again.

"The Autobots have gained five more to their numbers and the one terminated by Megatron has been revived." Barricade began as he glanced over at his shoulder to see Frenzy bouncing around cussing at Ravage whilst the felinoid swished his tail back and forth, the big black cat like creature stalked the smaller con before pouncing upon him. The silver boom box screeched and scuttled out of the way only to throw more profanities at the beast transformer.

_:: I was led . . . . believe . . . __Allspark . . . destroyed?__::_Starscream inquired, in the background he could barely hear the raised voices of what appeared to be Thundercracker and Skywarp mocking the silver flier. He groaned inwardly out of all the Decepticons he had to bring those two idiots but then again there were far worse than them two.

"No a single shard remains." The shock trooper responded although he left out the part that said shard was currently inside of said revived Autobot.

_:: And pray tell . . . have . . . not procured . . from . . . Autobots?::_ The F22 Raptor demanded.

Barricade clenched his clawed hands into fists and gritted his denta, this was the part where Starscream implied he was weak "Frenzy and I have already attempted on a few occasions to gain access to their base . . . ." He was cut off when he heard Skywarp's obnoxious voice over the comm. link.

_:: Come . . 'Cade, you're tellin' . . that . . . little shard . . provin' . . hard . . . ya to . . . hold of?::_ The purple and black seeker asked.

"Bearing in mind that I am outnumbered ten to one, those odds would have scared you enough into lubricating yourself Skywarp." The Mustang snarled at his off-world team-mate, the purple and black seeker let loose a sting of Cybertronian profanities and damning Barricade's heritage all the way back to the original thirteen transformers. Frenzy began chanting 'Skywarp an idiot' in the background as he bounced around intending to remain out of harms way whilst Ravage paced back and forth, tail swinging as he watched the smaller Decepticon hopped about the warehouse floor, walls and rafters. Barricade seriously wondered whether something was glitched about the silver boom box after his head was reattached, but his CPU told him Frenzy had always been a bundle of spastic movements and thought processes. In the background the shock trooper could hear Blitzwing ribbing Skywarp before there was a dull clang followed by scuffling.

_:: Any . . . else . . report on?::_ Starscream asked.

"Frenzy and I have been following up on some leads regarding remnants of Sector Seven who hold small packets of Allspark energy at their research facilities." Barricade reported but added quickly because he knew exactly what the silver flier's next words would be "however they are not in this country and therefore make reaching them impossible."

_:: Then I . . . . . send Skywarp . . ahead.::_The silver seeker told him and Barricade inwardly cringed, the black and purple seeker could be heard protesting loudly in the background, but he was quickly silenced by Starscream telling him that he was to follow his orders and that he was in command.

"When shall I expect his arrival?" The Mustang inquired as he pushed himself off the wall he had been leaning against and stretched claw tipped hands above his head before folding his arms across his black chest, red optics scanned the dark horizon.

The comm. link fizzled out and Barricade wondered whether he had lost it when he heard Starscream's voice again _:: Two . . . . . weeks.::_

"Understood." The shock trooper responded.

_:: In . . . mean time . . . . . . . . to monitor . . . Autobots . . . locate . . . other . . spark signat . . . . ::_ The comm. link finally went dead, Barricade turned to his other companions to find Ravage back over in his corner, head resting upon his front legs and his tail curled round one side of his body, Frenzy had also calmed slightly and was connected to an old internet connection at the back of the hangar pouring through Government files that had once been protected by high security barriers and firewalls. It appeared that the humans still hadn't learned that it only took them a few seconds to tear down any defences they had in place no matter how encrypted their files were. He already decided that he would send the felinoid on the reconnaissance mission whilst he and Frenzy followed up on any other leads that the small hacker could find buried deep in the Government's data base. But first the shock trooper proceeded over to another corner and settled into a couch mulling over the fact that he had not alerted Starscream to the existence of the sparkling, not that it was of great significance unless the infant Cybertronian had truly inherited the powers from the Allspark shard lying inside of the silver mech's spark chamber. If he had been told about the sparkling, Starscream might do one of two things; the first being capturing it regardless of the casualties it might cause on either side so he could use the sparkling's powers for his own use. Or the second one; have him terminated so the others couldn't start thinking along the lines that they might be able to bring Megatron back from the dead and usurp the silver flier from his command of the Decepticon forces. He knew the circumstances would have been different if the Decepticon lord was still alive, no-one ever held back vital information from him as they all knew what would happen if they did, where as Starscream would simply sneer and tell you how useless you were.

The shock trooper pushed himself up and off the wall and turned to his smaller comrades, Ravage was still laid in his corner, the tip of his tail now twitching as he watched Frenzy break through more Government barriers on the net whilst the little 'con muttered to himself. Barricade turned his attention to the outside world where the summer storm continued to rage on, he was in two minds whether to sit it out, but he knew where the Autobots wouldn't brave the fierce weather it gave him the opportunity to conduct further scouting without their interference. With that in mind he called Frenzy to him, the small hacker disconnected himself from the internet and scampered over as the Mustang dropped into his alt. mode, his passenger door swung open permitting the silver boom box access and Frenzy clambered inside before Barricade swung his door shut.

_:/Get as close to the Autobot base as you possibly can.\:_Barricade instructed the felinoid, Ravage gave a simple nod of acknowledgement before the black and white shock trooper peeled out of the hangar and into the raging weather outside.

**Space . . . .**

The sleek black contours of the Decepticon warship Nemesis stood out against the swirling gases of red, orange and brown, usually its dark colour almost allowed it to blend in with the blackness of space, save for the silver designs that etched their way through the curved contours of the ship. The battleship appeared to be still under going repairs, holes that punctured the formidable armour and scorch marks which spoke of scored hits were being reinforced so they didn't appear as weak points in future combat. The shield array at the back end of the battleship had been removed completely since it was no longer operational, it had been from a lucky single hit that they had managed to get in. The Nemesis' engines were also dark and the distinct sound of them humming was missing and the small, sleek fuchsia coloured femme smiled inwardly from where she was hiding amongst the gas giant's faint planetary rings in her transition mode, a signal dampening field that was usually only unique to special ops kept her hidden from the battleship's sensors.

Her mission was to ascertain the status of the battleship and report back as soon as possible and by the looks of the ongoing repairs, the Decepticon's were at least a few joors behind them which in her books was a good thing as it meant they could break orbit around the other side of the gas giant and continue onto the planet where Optimus Prime's message had broadcast from, it had been a long time since she had seen any of her other comrades and was looking forward to rejoining them. She drifted in slightly closer to the battleship but not too close so the ship's sensors would be alerted to her presence despite the signal dampening field, she logged onto the Nemesis communications hub and immediately her audios were met with the boisterous chatter of those on-board. She carefully skimmed through the communications hub making sure not to delve too deeply as she was not designed to handle that amount of information all at once.

She found nothing new, there were status reports upon the injured and the repairs to the ships and mission reports from before the battle but nothing of interest until she picked up a transmission coming from the ship, she tapped into it making sure not to alert them of her intrusion and listened in. It appeared Starscream was contacting the Decepticon he had abandoned upon this system's third planet, he asked for a status report and through the static garbled transmission she was able to hear that another team had arrived safely upon the planet adding the numbers to a total of ten if not more, since five hadn't always been a necessity after all her team consisted of six members. Then she was surprised to hear that the Allspark had survived through a small shard but what had her confused was to the Autobot that had seemingly died to be brought back.

She cocked her head to the side when she heard Skywarp mocking his comrade about not being able to obtain the shard "Typical Decepticon, least Barricade has more ball bearings than you do." She muttered as she continued to listen in. The fuchsia coloured femme was surprised to hear that small pockets of the Allspark's energy had been obtained and stored in various different research facilities upon the third planet and wandered whether Optimus' team knew about this or was it just privy to Decepticon knowledge? The next part of the transmission had her complete attention.

_::Then I shall send Skywarp on ahead.::_Came the silver seeker's voice.

_::When . . . I expect . . . arrival?::_ Was the shock trooper's inquiry

_::Two Earth weeks.::_She frowned at that, how long was two earth weeks in regards to their own time measurements?

_::Understood.::_ The shock trooper responded.

_::In the mean time continue to monitor the Autobots and locate any other Allspark signatures.::_ Starscream instructed before the line finally went dead, she continued to listen in further to find out when Skywarp would be mobilising, but they no longer appeared to be using their comm. links. That meant that the black and purple seeker could be heading out any time soon since he had not been injured in the last skirmish with them. With that thought in mind, she disengaged from the Nemesis' communications hub and accessed her propulsion system, she sped away from the battleship and back to the small scout ship on the other side of the gas giant with information she knew would be important to the Earth based team when they finally sent their first data stream to them.

**Earth - Following morning . . . .**

There were only a few things that could ever startle Prowl out of a sound recharge and a stray arm from his lover was one of them, the silver appendage fell limply against his chest plate as Jazz turned over to face him, Prowl scowled drowsily at his mate but the expression went unnoticed as the Solstice continued to recharge. The saboteur had become more restless the further on into the gestation cycle he went especially now that the sparkling was announcing his presence with small flutters of movements, or on the occasion a little kick or punch, then there were the little aches and pains that would infuse his frame and cause him to be far more moodier than he was already. Sideswipe had likened the silver mech to the unmaker himself only to have a plasma round shot into his aft plates, the red front-liner was left to deal with the injury for most of the day until Ratchet could rein in his laughter and treat him.

Jazz's restless movements in recharge often irritated Prowl to the point where he would roll off the berth and retreat to the couch in their living space. The saboteur was not on his left side a few minutes before he murmured something and rolled onto his back, the stray arm that had hit him moved to rest across his chest armour instead. The white and black Dodge Charger watched his bond-mate for a few minutes to see if he would stir again and move but when it appeared he wasn't going to, the tactician shuffled slightly closer to the Solstice before placing one of his own hands upon the silver mech's lower chest armour that was somehow accommodating the growing protoform of their infant. There was a dull vibration from within as the sparkling protested against the invasion of his personal space which earned it a weak groan from Jazz. Prowl didn't have time to contemplate the murmur when the Solstice uttered something incomprehensible before twisting himself back onto his right side, the Charger shook his head in amusement as he sat up, it was going to be one of those times when the saboteur couldn't find an ideal position to lie in. At least he wasn't complaining about the aches and pains he seemed to be experiencing at the moment, in his sleep, nor the hot flashes that usually resulted in the black and white mech being kicked out of the berth until they went away. The tactician swung his legs over the side of the berth and checked his internal chronometer and discovered the time was no later than six hours thirty seven minutes and fifty two seconds, he flexed his door wings before stretching his arms high above his head to work out the kinks in his back. He took one final look at his mate before pushing himself off the berth and made his way out of the room.

Prowl touched the panel next to the door way and the lights flickered on at their usual soft setting before he stepped across the living room and into the wash rack. Ten minutes later he stepped out of the wash area feeling much cleaner and more alert, the tactician made his way across to the desk in the main living space and accessed the console to see if anything important was awaiting his attention in his inbox. After scanning through the files he found nothing of particular importance but none the less downloaded the others onto a data-pad so he could read through them later, he switched off the monitor then moved toward one of the storage cabinets and slid the door open. The Dodge Charger reached inside and removed a long black canister that he knew had become the bane of his bond-mate's existence, he also plucked out a mug and closed the door. He stepped across to the couch and sat down and placed the items upon the table in front of it, he knew with Jazz being this restless at this time in the morning he would be up shortly and no doubt be in his usual bout of moodiness that was just beginning to grate upon Prowl's nerves. The tactician plucked a singular heating pad out of his subspace and placed it down upon the table and set about pouring the glowing green energon into the mug, he twitched his nose at the smell that met his olfactory sensors and understood why the saboteur always looked nauseous after drinking it. The Charger placed the cap back on the canister and set it to one side then reached for the mug and placed it upon the pad which he had turned on to a relatively low setting. He got up from the couch and proceeded across to the desk to grab the small stack of data-pads. He was about to turn round when he heard footsteps and glanced over his shoulder (although he had to flick a door wing out of the way to do so) to see his bond-mate stumble out of their sleeping quarters, he chuckled slightly at the Solstice's slightly dishevelled appearance.

"Morning Jazz." Prowl greeted the saboteur.

The saboteur glanced across to him with dimly lit optics and he scowled at him "What are ya doin' up this early?"

Prowl crossed the room sensing there was something off about his bond-mate "A certain mate of mine was being a little active in his sleep."

"Again?" Jazz asked slightly surprised. The saboteur rarely ever moved in recharge, once he hit the berth he was out like a light and it would take a tremendous effort on Prowl's behalf to move him even an inch.

"Again." The tactician replied as he gently cupped his mate's face and planted a soft kiss upon his lips, he pulled away and smoothed his thumbs over the saboteur's cheeks "we have our appointment with Ratchet this morning."

"I know." The Solstice said as he reached up to clasp the hands resting against his facial plates, he nuzzled one palm lovingly which produced a small smile from his mate. Prowl then gripped his hands and lowered them to waist level before dragging the saboteur over to the couch and pushing him into sitting down. Instantly Jazz's optics settled upon the mug sat upon the table and the green liquid slowly heating up, he gave his bond-mate a disgruntled look.

"Sorry Jazz but you know the drill." The tactician told him as he plucked the mug off the table once it had heated up to a certain temperature and handed it to his mate, the Solstice reluctantly took it from him and eyed it in disgust. He hated the obnoxiously glowing green liquid with a vengeance especially now that he had to take it in more often than not with the sparkling growing its own protoform inside his lower chest. He had found that fact rather unusual, but Ratchet informed him it was not unheard of. The Solstice swirled the green liquid around the mug before he glanced at his bond-mate who raised an optic ridge at him, he grimaced as previous thoughts of drinking down the specially brewed energon popped into his processor, he nearly put the mug down to refuse to take it in. But then again that would only cause an argument to start between the pair of them and Jazz didn't know whether he had the energy to argue against his partner this morning. The saboteur raised the mug to his lip components and swallowed the green liquid quickly before thrusting the offending container toward his mate to take it from him, he felt his tanks give an unsettled churn.

"I'll be fraggin' glad when I don't hav' ta drink that stuff any more." Jazz told his mate when Prowl made his way back into the main living space after disappearing into the wash rack to clean the mug in the sink. He put both the black canister and mug back into the storage cabinet before turning to face his mate, the Solstice was slouched back in the couch with one hand resting against his armoured chest plate whilst his thumb stroked the the length of metal that split his grill in half.

"Is the sparkling causing you some discomfort again?" The Dodge Charger inquired as he perched upon the arm of the couch, with the sparkling growing much faster than normal, it proved to be draining upon the Solstice's energy reserves, not too mention uncomfortable as it barely gave his systems the time they needed to adjust to his growing form. His mate glanced at him and gave him a small smile.

"No." He replied "I'm just gettin' small flutters of movement." Prowl slid into the couch beside his mate and settled his gaze upon his mate's clawed hand resting upon his armoured chest plates, he was about to shift one of his own hands and rest it upon silver armour when Jazz sighed through his intakes and met his gaze "they've stopped." Prowl's door wings drooped in disappointment, for some of no reason his sparkling had developed the habit of moving when he was either on duty or not taking any notice and when he was around his mate, the infant barely moved at all. The Solstice had already told him that he needed to communicate with their offspring whether through the bond or verbally when he and the silver mech were alone together, but the black and white had yet to work up the courage to do so whether because it seemed illogical to do so, Jazz wasn't sure "come on let's head to the recreation room and grab some energon before we have to see Ratchet." The silver mech pushed himself out of the couch and stood up before offering a hand to his mate who took it and pulled himself up, Jazz flashed him a smile before grabbing one of his hands and tugging Prowl out of their quarters and toward the recreation room.

A few humans were walking the hallways as they went about their own duties, a couple of them greeted them as they made their way to the rec. room whilst others continued on their way. Prowl spotted a couple that were scheduled to be in the control room, he checked to find out which Autobots were on duty in there and discovered it was the twins who would be there until oh nine hundred hours this morning. The pair had been behaving themselves recently but the tactician knew that it wouldn't last for long as no doubt Sideswipe had something spectacular planned and ready to dish out on an unsuspecting Autobot, so he decided a close optic would have to be kept on the red Lamborghini. The pair of them entered the recreation room and found it relatively empty except for a few humans sat in their own corner of the room talking amongst themselves, several of them were watching the large television screen and the news bulletins that were being displayed upon it. Prowl scanned the headlines before he turned his attention back toward his mate and watched as he all but raced toward the dispenser. He shook his head in amusement, the Solstice was a perpetual energy guzzler at the moment and would often prey upon a comrade's mug of energon if he couldn't be bothered to crawl out of his seat and over to the dispenser despite his energy levels reading optimum. He was glad in some respects that the rest of the Autobots had stashed away the small supply of energon goodies so his mate couldn't find them. The small glowing pink bars usually ended up sending Jazz, for a lack of a better word, hyperactive and the Solstice coming down from the energy rush was a complete nightmare simply because he behaved exactly like a petulant youngling.

Jazz returned a few moments later with his mug filled almost to brim whilst Prowl's was three quarters of the way full, he frowned at his mate but Jazz simply smiled at him and sipped his ration contentedly. The tactician noticed there was something new developing in his bond-mate's mood in the few seconds that he watched him and couldn't decide whether it was good or bad. The saboteur had a habit of allowing small factors to decide what kind of mood he was going to be in and that was exactly what appeared to be happening right now. Although as he continued to observe the Solstice whilst sipping upon his own ration, he noticed that his movements were less fluid and graceful but rather nervous instead, he frowned at the saboteur's unusual show of behaviour.

"Jazz?" He inquired, concerned that something might be wrong with his mate.

"I'm fine." The Solstice responded, but Prowl wasn't quite convinced however rather than start an argument he left it at that. But as the time drew closer to the appointment they had with Ratchet that morning, the more he understood why Jazz was feeling so nervous especially once the barely suppressed emotions started filtering through their bond. Prowl gave his mate a small smile and clasped one of the silver mech's clawed hands before pulling him up from the couch and leading him out of the room. The pair of them headed away from the recreation room and made their way toward the repair bay where the two of them would get to see for the first time, a full scale analysis of their sparkling. Prowl was beginning to feel positively nervous about the prospect of seeing their offspring as it could very well mean that any deformity that the sparkling had developed would be picked up on the scan, then they would be faced with the decision whether to terminate it or not should something like that occur. He knew Jazz was feeling the same way as he could feel his mate's nervous apprehension filtering through their bond which only served to heighten his own anxiety. They both paused outside of the med-bay as they tried to quash the nervous energy running through their systems, the pair of them continued to tell themselves that everything would be fine and that they had a perfectly healthy sparkling. Prowl took in a deep breath to calm his nerves, normally he wouldn't allow his emotions to get the better of him, but then again emotional programming wasn't a necessity when it came to drawing up battle plans and special ops missions unlike this situation that called for his logic circuits and battle computer to take a back seat.

"Ready?" He asked as he glanced at his mate, he felt Jazz tighten his hold upon the hand he was clasping before nodding his head, the tactician led his mate into the repair bay and the first thing they heard was Ratchet ranting at someone. The pair of them glanced over in the medic's direction to find him lecturing Wheeljack whose usual white armour was instead coated black in some parts, no doubt the result of an experiment gone wrong. The engineer spotted them and managed to appear sheepish despite his face mask.

"Ouch what happened there 'Jack?" The Solstice inquired as they made their way over.

"Wrong chemical composition." He mumbled.

"Which could have been avoided if you had detached yourself from your lab and gone to quarters to recharge like the rest of us normal mechs do." Ratchet admonished the Lancia Stratos as he finished wrapping the only serious injury the engineer had obtained; an acid burn upon his left forearm.

"You mean you're normal Ratch?" Jazz asked with a smile, his normal cocky attitude returning.

The Hummer scowled at the Solstice "Get your aft over to that berth and stay there." The silver mech glanced at his bond-mate and was met with a disapproving look from Prowl, but he simply shrugged his shoulders and proceeded across to where said berth was and perched on the edge of it. Ratchet quickly finished up his work and all but kicked Wheeljack out of his med-bay with stern words that he was to proceed to his quarters and get some recharge or he would cart him out of his lab by one of his fins and weld him to his berth. He then turned his attention to the bonded couple. The medic removed a portable scanner from sub-space and prepared the monitor above the saboteur's head to receive visual input before instructing him to lie down upon his back, Jazz gripped his mate's hand tightly as he laid flat on his back and watched as the CMO ran the scanner he had in hand over his chest plate. An image instantly appeared upon the screen showing the sparkling now lying directly below the saboteur's spark chamber although there was something Prowl found odd about his position. He was currently turned upside down and laid in a way that looked rather uncomfortable to the tactician, but he understood why as the infant would be outgrowing the constructed gestation chamber very shortly.

"So how is he Ratch?" Jazz inquired unable to remove his gaze from the tiny life he was nurturing.

"He looks perfectly healthy." The medic replied as he zoomed in on several areas of the sparkling to make sure that everything was developing properly, Prowl watched with increasing fascination as his child curled tiny fingers into fists testing his grip and padding his feet against the side of the chamber he was cocooned in, he wondered whether Jazz was able to feel those small movements at all or where they simply too minuscule for him to feel them? "uh wait what have we got here." The tactician suddenly felt his fuel pump speed up at the Hummer's words hoping that he had not found a deformity that could affect their sparkling's growth, but by the small smile twitching the medic's lip components told him that he need not think the worse.

"What's up Ratch?" The Solstice inquired with a small look of concern upon his facial plates.

"Looks like Sideswipe is going to be running for the hills once he finds out about this little development." The medic replied, he glanced at the bonded pair to see identical confused expressions upon their facial plates, he moved the image round to display the sparkling's back and zoomed in slightly to show the tactician and saboteur the two stubby protrusions growing in-between his shoulders.

"Wait are those . . . . ?" Prowl found himself unable to finish his question when he saw the small two protrusions that would undoubtedly grow into a pair of sensory panels, he was completely unsure what to make of this situation as he knew first hand how difficult sensory panels could be especially to a sparkling. The wings usually set back the sparkling's ability to walk until their immature processors realised that their centre of gravity was much different from other infant Cybertronians, but that didn't stop Prowl from thinking about the days ahead when his creation would experience the hardship of having to deal with the awkwardness. Not too mention the numerous aches and pains that inflicted door winged mechs and femmes.

"You're broodin' Prowler." Jazz told his mate.

"It's nothing." He replied. The Solstice frowned at his bond-mate but knew better than to pursue it, he turned his attention back to the screen where he could see the infant's spark pulsing inside of his spark chamber and his tiny fuel pump beating inside of his chest. A smile twitched the edges of his lip components when he saw the sparkling move one of his curled fists up to his face and promptly stuck his thumb into his mouth, a trait he knew that the infant hadn't gotten from him and wondered whether his bond-mate had been a thumb sucker when he was a sparkling.

"I'll go over these results to make sure I haven't missed anything but other than that you're free to go." Ratchet told the pair as he transferred the information regarding the sparkling over to the terminal in his office and turned off the monitor above the saboteur's head. Jazz pushed himself up into a sitting position and placed a clawed hand upon his chest plate when he felt the slightest movement from the infant but he quickly went still again.

"Ratch don't suppose we could have a copy of the scan?" Jazz asked.

"Yes you can and before you go do you want to hear the sparkling's spark pulse?" The Hummer inquired as he glanced at the bonded pair, the saboteur and the tactician glanced at one another before they both nodded in unison. The chartreuse mech gave them a small smile before reaching for another implement and attached it to the silver mech's chest plates, he touched the top of it. Suddenly the frantic but healthy beating of a fuel pump and rhythmic pulsing of a spark filled the silence in the repair bay and the soon to be parents found themselves wholly captivated by the sound of their child's life-force.

"It's ..." Prowl began, finding his vocaliser refusing to work.

"Beautiful." Jazz finished for him.

"I thought you both might like to hear it." The medic replied as he removed the device "now out I have things to do." The pair quickly made their way out of the repair bay and toward the command centre, the Solstice glanced at his mate several times during their journey there wondering whether to bring up his mate's behaviour from earlier. However commotion from the control room quickly drew his attention away from the matter at hand and the two of them quickened their steps down the corridor. When they entered, they found the humans rushing back and forth between consoles as streams of data scrolled down the main monitoring screen, they found Optimus stood next to Mirage who was sat at the main console, elegant fingers typing in sequences and codes in order to decrypt the files sent to them.

"What's happenin'?" The saboteur inquired as he came to stand on the other side of Mirage.

"We received a communiqué." Prime replied as he glanced at his second and third "it just arrived."

"Another team?" Prowl asked as he scanned the rows of information scrolling down the screen in front of him.

"Looks that way." Sideswipe spoke up from where he was still sat, both he and his twin had yet to be relieved from their duty.

"Any idea who?" Jazz asked as he scrutinised the data as well before it finally dawned upon him and he shook his head in amusement "trust Red to send info on an encrypted bandwidth that'll take us hours to sort out."

"Wait Red? As in Red Alert?" Sideswipe asked not sure whether he had heard the saboteur right the first time.

"Yup, that's his algorithmic codes he uses when encrypting files, a good one too." The Solstice replied "Mirage an' I can have the whole thin' decrypted in a couple of hours Optimus."

The semi Peter-built truck unfolded his arms and allowed them to hang by his sides as he regarded his special ops commander "Alright, report to me the moment the information is decrypted." The two ops agents nodded their understanding to their commander before delving into the work ahead of them. Prowl glanced at the screen the information was still continuing to scroll down and wondered whether Intel. as to if and when the security director's team would make planet fall was somewhere amidst all of those encryptions, if that was the case their presence on Earth might be sooner than any of them first predicted. This meant that he would have to draw up new plans in regards to expanding the base and upgrading security although no doubt it would get a complete overhaul when Red Alert set foot upon the planet, the Dodge Charger stepped back and turned to head out of the control room but not before he heard Jazz and Mirage arguing over the best way of going about decrypting the files without deleting them from the system. Prowl shook his head, he didn't envy the spy spending the next few hours with his bonded in the slightest.

**A couple of days later ….**

Since the transmission from Red Alert's team several days ago, the base had been full of excitement and nervous apprehension from the humans stationed there, the Autobots seemed relieved that a few more of their numbers had survived after going their separate ways in order to track down the Allspark. There had been several meetings in regards to expanding the base to accommodate the new arrivals as well as upgrading the security before Red Alert stepped foot on the planet, since they all knew how pedantic he could get if something wasn't up to the right standards. Also since the transmission Sideswipe had made it his personal mission to make sure the team would fit in into Earth's culture straight away and Prowl grimaced at the thought of what the red Lamborghini had planned for their arrival. He had contemplated putting Sideswipe on long range patrol or monitoring duty when the team made planet fall so he couldn't cause a scene.

Prowl finally keyed in the code to his shared quarters and the doors whooshed open, the lights were already on at the usual soft setting which often indicated that his bond-mate was around. He tiredly glanced across to the couch situated in the middle of the room and found Jazz curled up on it on his left side, one of his arms was pillowed beneath his head whilst the other dangled over the edge with a data-pad dangling from clawed fingers. The saboteur's right knee joint was pulled up to hip level whilst his left was straight, the white and black Dodge Charger quietly crept across the room before crouching down beside the couch and settling his fingers from his left hand gently upon his mate's chest armour, wanting to experience the flutters of movement only his mate had been privy too. A startled gasp suddenly drew Prowl out of his thoughts and he glanced in time to see the saboteur drop the data-pad he had been holding so he could remove his lover's hand from his chest plates, he frowned at this action only to hear his mate chuckle at his confused expression.

"Your hand was cold love." Jazz told him as he moved the tactician's fingers he had clasped in his own to his lip components and gently blew on them to warm them up, only when he was satisfied that they were at the right temperature did he place them on his chest again. Prowl traced fingertips across the smooth metal plating only to have his hand pressed flat against the surface, he was about to comment on Jazz's behaviour when the tactile sensors in his fingertips registered a dull vibration from within. Both optic ridges rose in surprise as he continued to feel out the small murmurs and vibrations that his sparkling was making from within his bond-mate, the saboteur smiled as he turned over onto his back and continued to watch the expression upon Prowl's facial plates change from surprise into one of incredulity "cool huh?"

The Dodge Charger met the Solstice's gaze as he felt out all the sparkling's small acrobatics "When did they become more pronounced?" He realised that the murmur from the other day had been an outward display of movement from the sparkling.

"Earlier today." Jazz told him "the first one took me completely by surprise, think I scared Mirage outta his platin'." Suddenly a surprisingly strong kick or punch earned the unborn Cybertronian a pained moan from the saboteur "this is gonna take some gettin' use to."

"It's rather unusual that we appear to be getting all of this now when we didn't before." Prowl said as he pushed himself up to his towering height then sat down upon the lip of the couch, he placed his left hand on the other side of Jazz's thighs whilst he settled his right hand upon his bond-mate's chest this time.

"Well he's bigger now an' in the right position to announce his presence." Jazz replied as he gently grasped the hand resting upon his chest whilst he kept the other pillowed beneath his head, the Dodge Charger gave him a tired smile and his door wings finally sagged from their usual high position on his back "you look tired love." Without the bond at the moment Jazz could tell exhaustion was just beginning to set in through the subtle hints in his mate's body language. The Solstice pushed himself stiffly up into a sitting position as he regarded his black and white counterpart "go to the wash rack love and we'll think about relieving some of that tension ya feelin'." Prowl knew that the relief unfortunately wouldn't be a couple bouts of interfacing as Ratchet absolutely prohibited it whilst the saboteur was with sparkling, so the couple had discovered other ways in helping each other out. The tactician got to his feet and trudged across to their private wash rack in order to clean himself up, his mate was becoming particularly fussy about cleanliness at this particular period of the gestation cycle, the CMO had assured Prowl that it was perfectly normal behaviour and would peter off eventually, but sometimes it played on the Charger's patience.

Prowl quickly washed and dried before stepping out of the wash rack and made his way to the recharge chamber, his audio receivers picked up the faint sound of music coming from inside the room. He poked his head round the doorway to see Jazz sat at the head of their berth with his back to the wall, the Solstice glanced over at him and patted the space on the berth in front of him. The tactician made his way over and settled himself in-between his lover's legs and allowed his helm to rest upon the warm plating of his bonded's abdomen. Prowl made sure his wings were lying flat upon the gel surface of the berth, although he knew that they would protest soon if left in that position for too long. Instantly he felt gentle magnetic pulses upon his shoulders that radiated down his chest and back soothing the tension that was built up there, the silver mech trailed his clawed fingers across the white and black plating of the tactician's door wings in slow soothing caresses. The Charger found himself tracing lazy circles upon the armoured plating of the saboteur's calves and the edges of the rear wheel wells, the somewhat unconscious action prompted a small chuckle out of Jazz as he changed the polarity of his magnetics slightly as he ran his fingertips up from the door wings and along his mate's shoulders. The tactician worked his fingers into his mate's ankle joints and began massaging the tubing and wiring that made up the area, he knew the aching knee and ankle joints were one of the Solstice's recent complaints and he did the best he could to soothe them. Prowl was almost completely relaxed now and Jazz could hear his systems cycling down for recharge and would have continued that way had it not been for the loud clang of someone meeting the wall outside their quarters and raised voices. The tactician groaned and rolled off the berth and his mate, all he wanted to do was wind down and relax with Jazz, but now he had to go and deal with a pair of rambunctious Lamborghinis who had nothing better to do with their time. Prowl decided a word with Optimus regarding their behaviour was in order. Again.

"Go knock some sense into their heads." Jazz said with a smile.

"Lot of good that'll do them, there's nothing in there for me to knock sense into." Prowl replied as he left their quarters and disappeared into the hallway outside. Jazz chuckled at the small joke his mate had made before he slid himself down onto his left side so he was facing the doorway. He pillowed one of his arms beneath his head whilst the other curled up next to his chest, he felt his systems slowly power down for recharge and was about to shut down completely when he felt a brush against his spark. The saboteur surprised by the touch jolted on-line and rolled onto his back, his gaze fell upon the ceiling above him as he felt another brush against his consciousness, he frowned knowing that Prowl knew better than to reach him through their bond at the moment and instead turned his attention to the sparkling resting in his lower chest. He shuttered his optics and directed thoughts of love and devotion to his growing creation and was rewarded with an influx of thoughts and feelings from the little one, a smile twitched the edges of his lip components as the torrent of input from the sparkling refused to cease and he realised there and then his creation was going to be a talker. He laughed inwardly; that would be the last thing Prowl would want; two noisy mechs in his life.

Jazz subconsciously tapped a rhythm upon the metal piece that split his grill in half and the sparkling tapped back in his protective chamber whether using his tiny fists or his feet, the influx of immature thoughts and feelings didn't stop either in fact they intensified. Jazz chuckled at his creations behaviour, it appeared he was clearly excited about the prospect of being in contact with his creator and the Solstice wondered whether it would be possible for Prowl to communicate with their offspring though their bond.

_'Easy little one.'_ Jazz murmured to the infant. Suddenly the excited fluttering and babble that had strangely enough nearly driven Jazz to overload stopped altogether and the sparkling went completely silent, even when Jazz poked at his consciousness. The silver mech jolted on-line fully and sat up debating with himself whether to call Ratchet or not until a soft fluttering drew his attention, he sighed with relief but that quickly dissipated when something rather unusual occurred:

_'The evil ones are coming.'_ Came a voice that he knew was not his sparkling's. Jazz frowned at that wondering whether the evil ones that the voice was referring to was the Decepticons, but they already knew that little fact from the report they received from the next team making their way to Earth. So what he couldn't understand was why it was repeating this bit of information to him _'they will bring back the lord high protector to rain destruction down upon this planet once again.'_ The voice responded to his question. The lord high protector? Suddenly it struck the Solstice like a bolt of lightning, the voice couldn't possibly mean the other Decepticons would try and bring back Megatron? He had prepared for the eventualities of having to fend off Starscream and his lackeys but not the tyrant himself. The saboteur attempted to reach through the bond to contact Prowl wanting nothing more than his mate's comforting presence and reassurance that the possibilities of bringing Megatron back was unlikely, especially with the tyrant lying at the bottom of the sea floor, but as usual it was a herculean effort to get a response from him. He was about to comm. him instead but no doubt his bond-mate was lecturing the twins at the moment and could not afford to be distracted from the task at hand. So he decided there and then to pay Ratchet a visit before the Lamborghinis were sent in the medic's direction should they require repairs.

Jazz pushed himself off from the berth and made his way out of his shared quarters and headed to the med-bay, the sparkling had gone silent and retreated from the bond he shared with the Solstice leaving the saboteur exhausted to the point he contemplated turning around and going back to quarters. But there was something he needed to find out from the Hummer and the only way he was going to get answers was by going there now. The silver mech reached the repair bay and stepped inside, he glanced around and spotted the medic doing an inventory upon medical supplies which Jazz found was rather peculiar at this time of day.

"Ratch." He called softly, the medic disguised as a search and rescue Hummer looked up from the work he was doing and met his gaze.

"Is everything alright Jazz?" The pale yellow mech inquired as he placed the data-pad and stylus he had been holding onto the table next to the stack of labelled items, then stepped across to where the silver Solstice was stood.

"There's somethin' I need ta ask ya about." The saboteur told him as he made his way toward one of the berths and clambered up onto it.

The medic folded his arms across his chest and rose a single optic ridge "About?"

"You mentioned ta me the other day about talkin' to the sparklin'." Jazz began as he swung his legs back and forth "exactly what kinda communication were ya talkin' about?"

"Thoughts and feelings mainly." Ratchet replied scrutinising the saboteur closely wondering where this was all going, he was beginning to suspected that the Solstice had been spooked by his first mental encounter with his offspring through the bond they shared.

"So nothing verbal?" The silver mech asked as he peered down at the floor.

Both of Ratchet's optic ridges furrowed at the strange inquiry "Jazz the sparkling is far too immature to be showing that kind of intelligence, they normally don't start gaining the coherence of speech until they're at least a vorn old even then its punctuated by the rudimentary code they use." Jazz scrubbed a hand across his facial plates "what's this all about?"

"I'm not sure." The saboteur murmured more to himself than the medic. Ratchet looked completely confused by the silver mech's behaviour then he noted his energy levels were quite low with his on board sensors, he vented a small sigh and realised that maybe what the Solstice thought he heard was a result of being exhausted.

"Look I'm not going to say right off the bat that maybe you were imagining things, but you're energy levels are exceptionally low and they can interfere with normal thought processes." The Hummer told him, Jazz snapped his gaze up from the floor and frowned at the medic.

"So what you're tryin' ta say is I was just earin' things?" The Solstice asked somewhat angrily "then if that's the case how do ya explain the message 'the evil ones are comin' and that 'they will bring back the lord high protector to rain destruction down upon this planet once again' huh?" The silver mech pushed himself off the berth and stormed out of the med-bay leaving Ratchet stood there with a somewhat surprised look upon his facial plates. There was no way an unborn sparkling could be showing that much intelligence before it was even brought into the world not without the interference from the Allspark, Ratchet decided he would have to run a deep scan analysis on the infant Cybertronian to see if the shard was having an impact upon the sparkling's developing CPU. He glanced at the items that required listing but decided that this issue required his attention first, he turned full about and made his way to his office hoping that the answer to this strange situation was buried somewhere in the infant's scans.

The medic sat in his chair and pulled up every scan he had taken of Jazz so far during the gestation cycle, and trawled through the data looking for any abnormality in the sparkling's development. There was nothing there at all that indicated the infant had any form of intelligence, but that didn't mean the Hummer was going to dismiss the Solstice's claims that he had heard something. After all the Allspark could have influenced the sparkling's development in one way or another, but he would have no way of finding out until he had the saboteur under a scanner again. Ratchet sat back in his seat and scrubbed his hands over tired facial plates, he was contemplating recharge when the doors to the med-bay opened, he heard a discernible limp in the footsteps and frowned. The Hummer pushed himself up and out of his chair then made his way out of his office only to stop in his tracks at the sight before him. He had to stifle a laugh that threatened to leave his vocaliser at seeing Optimus peppered in numerous colours, however his mood quickly sobered when he saw the tell tale glow of blue energon running down the side of the Prime's lower right leg.

"Dare I ask what happened?" Ratchet inquired as he folded his arms across his chest and raised a single optic ridge as he scrutinised his leader.

Optimus shifted painfully upon his pedes "Ironhide decided to get a little creative, and acted upon Jazz's initiative."

"Well get your scrawny aft on one of those berths so I can have a look at what damage has been caused." The medic replied, the semi Peter-built limped his way across to one of the berths and pulled himself up onto it. The CMO collected a few tools before making his way across to his commander "dare I ask how this happened?"

A sheepish look appeared upon Optimus' facial plates "Better if you didn't know."

"Hmm." The medic hummed as he glanced away from the red and blue mech as he set to work in repairing the minor wound, he knew Prime wasn't about to tell him that he had been bested by Ironhide in hand to hand combat or a game of paint ball. Ratchet worked quickly and efficiently as he always did when repairing damage once he had cleaned away congealed energon and paint from the wound, whilst Optimus sat quietly studying the chartreuse mech, he could tell something was troubling his CMO.

"You appear to be troubled old friend." The Prime pointed out as he glanced around the room.

The Hummer didn't look up from his work "Something unusual has developed."

"Unusual?" Optimus inquired, a confused frown appeared upon his facial plates as he met Ratchet's gaze, the medic sighed as he placed his tools down "Ratchet what's happened?"

"When you carried Bumblebee, did you . . . did you ever experience hearing voices at all?" The CMO asked.

The frown upon the semi Peter-built's facial plates deepened "Voices?"

"Yes voices." The chartreuse mech replied.

Optimus looked thoughtful for a moment before he glanced away "I did a few times, I often wondered if it was the sparkling communicating with me, but I begun to realise that it couldn't be especially after what I was being told." He met the medic's gaze again "they continued after Bumblebee was born and still do now although not as often."

"What do they tell you?" The Hummer asked.

"To protect Bumblebee, to keep him safe." The large red and blue mech responded "why do you ask?"

Ratchet sighed through his intakes "Because not long ago, Jazz came to me and told me that he was sure he heard his sparkling was 'talking' to him." A look of surprise appeared upon his leader's facial plates at that "I believe it could be a similar situation to what you just told me, except that maybe the Allspark fragment is telling him of what is coming."

"It's a possibility, after all not much was known about the Allspark itself." Optimus said, he winced when the medic inspected his repairs, he was curious about what the infant or Allspark shard said to the saboteur if Jazz was experiencing the same "did he tell you exactly what he heard?"

"He said that he heard from his sparkling that 'the evil ones are coming' and that 'they will bring back the lord high protector to rain destruction down upon this planet once again'." The CMO replied as he wiped his hands upon a cloth, he watched as his leader's frame stiffened at the mention of the Decepticon tyrant's former title. He knew Optimus had barely managed to escape with his life the last time he had battled Megatron, not that his leader was weaker than the Decepticon tyrant, but it was the sheer brutality of the attacks from Megatron that had nearly defeated their Prime. He knew Optimus would be thinking along the same lines as he had, if Megatron returned to the land of the processing, could they possibly protect Prowl and Jazz's unborn offspring and keep it out of harms way with so few of them here on Earth?

"This matter should not be ignored Ratchet, keep me appraised if anything else unusual occurs." The semi Peter-built told his CMO as he slid off the berth and gently applied weight to his newly repaired knee joint.

Ratchet nodded "Yes Prime." He watched as his leader made his way across the room "oh and Prime! If you happen to see Ironhide, tell him to get his rust bucket aft down here." A small smile tugged at the corners of Optimus' lip components before he finally stepped out of the med-bay. The Hummer allowed his good mood to deflate as soon as his leader left, he let out a sigh through his intakes. One thing was for certain; the unborn sparkling's future looked to be rather bleak should Megatron ever rise from his grave.

_Looks like a new team is on the way and if anyone is wandering who the femme was, its Arcee_


	7. Clash on the Highway

AN: Once again as usual I want to thank those that reviewed and loving this story, its what keeps me going. And I can't believe every time when I go to my stats page how many people are reading it. Wow over 3,000 hits so far you guys are awesome! Here's the next chapter, hope you like it!

**Warnings**: Violence and the use of profanities and a little fluff ahead.

**Disclaimer**: Transformers belongs to its associated appropriates and not me.

_'Blah' – thoughts_

_**::Blah:: - Radio Communication**_

_:/blah\: - Inter. comm._

_:://Blah\\:: Bond communication_

* * * * * * * * * *

Samuel James Witwicky always hated getting up early on the weekends because no sooner was he up, he knew he would have to complete his chores so the rest of the day could be his. He rolled over onto his right side and immediately had to shield his eyes from the sun peeking through the gaps in the blind, he groaned and rolled over onto his back and settled his gaze upon the ceiling above him. Sam raised his arms and scrubbed at his face before kicking the covers off in a childish fit and rolling out of bed ungracefully, he stumbled across the length of his bedroom to the window that overlooked the driveway. He peeked through the blinds to find the brilliantly shining yellow paint of Bumblebee sat upon the drive whilst another car just as clean as the Camaro sat across the entrance, he frowned at the colour of the car and was certain there was no other black vehicles upon the Autobot base other than Ironhide and the car parked outside was too small to be the weapons specialist. He studied the car a little while longer but realised that if Bumblebee didn't appear alarmed by the strange car's presence then everything must be fine, he allowed the blinds to fall back into place before trudging wearily across to the bathroom and grabbing a quick shower.

Sam pretty much had the house to himself for the next two weeks with his parents off visiting relatives, he had wheedled his way out of the family commitments by telling his folks that he and Bumblebee had duties to be carried out at the base and couldn't afford to shirk them for the sake of a road trip. His mother had been understanding and told him not to over work himself whilst his father simply raised an eye brow at his son and knew that really he just didn't want to go with them and visit his aunt and uncle, of course in return of giving him the right to stay and look after the house, his parents had assigned him chores that needed doing. Thankfully Mojo hadn't been on the list as his mother insisted that they take the Chihuahua with them, she had become paranoid about the little dog being around giant alien robots after she discovered the incident involving Ironhide flipping Mojo over and nearly blasting him into the next solar system had Sam not stepped in to save him. That and he didn't think Optimus would appreciate having the small dog running round the base barking at everyone and everything not to mention urinating on 'things' that he wanted to 'dominate'.

He quickly slipped into a pair of jeans, a loose t-shirt and a hooded jacket then proceeded out of his bedroom and downstairs, making sure to open the curtains and blinds as he made his way to the kitchen. Sam grabbed the remote off the coffee table in the lounge and switched on the television set, he scanned through the channels and settled upon one that was broadcasting the daily news checking the headlines, but nothing caught his interest until one report about a meteor strike a few hundred miles away from the outskirts of Tranquillity came up on the screen. One paranoid interviewee sprouted off that they were being invaded by body swapping aliens whilst a scientist talked about the possibilities of being struck by small meteorites that had somehow slipped past him and the rest of the scientific community. Sam glanced across to the window where he could see Bumblebee and wondered whether one of the Autobots that had contacted them over a week ago had landed without his/her comrades knowing. He then transferred his gaze to the car out front and quickly realised that the scout would have alerted him if the vehicle was a new Autobot on Earth, but the black car did look familiar to him he just couldn't put his finger on it right now. He switched off the television and quickly went about his chores which consisted of tidying a few things up, he would make sure the house was clean and presentable the day before his parents got back even if he had to rope, cajole or plead with Mikaela to help him. Sam padded into kitchen and stuck his head into the refrigerator looking for anything small and quick to eat as he would grab something at the base's small canteen, although his mother would not approve of his choice. He spotted the opened packet of chocolate muffins he had brought the other day and grabbed one then shut the refrigerator door with his foot as he dug into the muffin, he spotted the bowl of fruit upon the centre counter and contemplated avoiding it but decided against it and shoved an apple into a jacket pocket.

Sam made his way to the back door and opened it, he instantly felt a warm breeze upon his face and wondered whether he should leave his jacket at home, but then he knew that without a doubt that the Autobot base would have the air conditioning on simply because one; it was unbelievably hot underground and two; a certain silver Autobot had whined in Optimus' audios about how he felt like he was melting inside his own armour and demanded that the AC be put on, not that Sam would complain. It got unbelievingly hot underneath the sun and Sam wondered how Bumblebee could stick staying out in the sun for several hours on end whilst he recharged his systems with solar energy. The Witwicky boy locked the door and trudged across the lawn to the driveway, normally he would take the path as his father was fussy about people 'ruining' the grass but as his dad wasn't there to yell at him he took the direct route to Bumblebee. As he approached the Camaro, he heard a soft click as each of the doors locked and he stared bewildered at the yellow scout, never before had Bumblebee locked him out.

"'Bee what's the deal?" Sam asked as he picked another chunk off the muffin and stuffed it in his mouth.

"You are not ingesting that in my alt. mode." The scout told him. Both of the boy's eye brows rose up at the words leaving the Camaro's vocaliser, Bumblebee wasn't usually fussy about his appearance compared to Sunstreaker.

Sam glanced down at the muffin in his hand before looking back at his car "I promise I won't drop any."

"That's what you said the last time and I ended up with numerous multicoloured candy stuck under the seats for weeks." Bumblebee responded, Sam sighed there was no point in arguing with a 16 foot giant alien robot who could squash you under his foot and stuffed the rest of the muffin into his mouth, he shoved the wrapper in his back jeans pocket then glanced at the Camaro. There was a moment of stillness before there was a soft chirp as the scout unlocked his doors then swung open the driver's side permitting Sam access to his alt. mode, Sam clambered in and shut the door then belted himself in as the Camaro's high performance engine roared to life. The Witwicky boy rested his hands against the leather steering wheel before reaching down to put the scout into gear and rolling him off the driveway, the black car that had been situated across the drive also rumbled to life and moved forwards slightly allowing Bumblebee to pull out onto the road before sliding in behind him. Sam glanced in the rear view mirror and suddenly recognised the make of the car now it was behind them.

_'Change the paint to white and black, add the police decals and lights, and the ram bars to the front_.' He thought to himself "Hey 'Bee I thought Sideswipe was supposed to tail us today?"

_**::He would have done, if he wasn't currently stuck in the brig.::**_ Bumblebee responded through his radio.

"So much for the run of good behaviour he's been exhibiting." Sam said as he leaned back in the driver's seat, feeling the wheel slid through his fingers as the scout travelled through the streets that would take them onto the slip road that joined onto the highway they needed to get onto to get to the base. Normally they would go pick up Mikaela but she had proclaimed a few days earlier that she had something planned. Of course when Sam had asked her what she was up to, she simply smiled and said nothing leaving him pondering. Mirage had been assigned to watch over her and had become evasive with answers as to what the human female was up to as well, all he answered with was 'it's a surprise' and left it at that "what did he do?"

_**:: The usual.:: **_The scout replied**_ :: he got bored and decided to pull a prank, however it kind of backfired and got the wrong mech.::_**

"Do I dare ask who the unsuspecting bot was?" The Witwicky boy inquired, he had a bad feeling about this.

_**:: A certain bond-mate of mine.::**_ Came a voice over Bumblebee's radio, Sam glanced in the rear view mirror to find Prowl was still tailing them. He had almost forgotten about the tactician up until now and was still finding it hard to comprehend how he had managed to change his appearance to that of an ordinary car. That was until he remembered Ratchet mentioning something about chameleon circuits that allowed them to change small attributes when needed too.

"So that means he's gonna be in one of those moods again?" The Witwicky boy inquired. If Sam could compare Jazz to anyone it would have to be Mikaela when it was that time of the month for his long term girlfriend, she could be downright scary when she wanted too especially if she didn't get her daily allowance of chocolate and the Solstice was the same except with energon goodies. The saboteur would constantly bug Prowl until either the tactician gave in or would say no and disappear, Sam couldn't decide which was the better option, say yes and the silver mech acted like a five year old hyped up on sugar or tell him no and experience the mother of all bad moods.

_**:: Actually no which was quite surprising, he pursued Sideswipe into the brig much to Ironhide's amusement then sauntered out once our resident troublemaker locked himself in a cell.::**_ Prowl responded. Sam stared at Bumblebee's dashboard in bewilderment, surely they couldn't be talking about the same mechs here? Sideswipe in all the four years of being on earth had never locked himself purposely in the brig to get away from one of his companions, not even when his brother was about to deliver an royal aft whopping. And Jazz being in a good mood? There had to be something wrong there, all he had seen through the silver mech's 'pregnancy' was mood swings that were terrible enough to send even the brave Autobot leader running _**:: in fact I was somewhat grateful for the small altercation this morning, Jazz has been somewhat . . . . affectionate as of late.::**_

"And that's bad how?" Sam asked trying to hold back the snickers that tried to escape him "least he's not in his 'flinch near me and I'll shoot your aft' mood."

_**:: Simply because I can only return some of his affections and not all.::**_ Prowl replied. Sam shook his head in amusement, that had to be frustrating for the tactician especially when the one thing you shared with your partner could not be experienced to its fullest. It didn't seem so strange to him now talking to giant alien robots and their 'extracurricular' activities compared to four years ago when he was far more interested in pursuing Mikaela and winning her affections. Although he would admit that the fact that the Cybertronians enjoyed the same physical closeness as they did had come as a surprise to him and with the unorthodox sex education lesson he learned from Jazz since the mech was far from a prude, he discovered the different levels of intimacy one could experience with their partner depending of course upon their relationship with one another.

"So you're givin' him the cold shoulder?" The Witwicky boy inquired as Bumblebee switched lanes and sped past a family carrier, he glanced in the rear view mirror to see Prowl doing the same.

_**:: As much as I possibly can without upsetting him.::**_ The Dodge Charger responded.

"Yea good luck with that." Sam chuckled as he focused upon the road ahead of him, he saw something big and black emerge from the foliage on the side of the highway and run into the traffic. There was an almighty crash as the creature collided with another people's carrier up ahead. The sound of tyres screeching against the asphalt and horns blaring could be heard and Sam watched as the black thing peeled itself out of the family carrier it had run into, shake itself off and snap its spiky head in their direction. Bumblebee snapped the boy's seat belt tight and slammed his own brakes on, Prowl manoeuvred out from behind him to avoid colliding with the Camaro's back end as he too applied his brakes.

_**:: Slag Ravage!:: **_The scout shouted as he slammed into reverse, tyres screeching and smoking as the big beast like creature leapt on top of a truck and began bounding down the highway toward them.

"Ravage?" Sam asked as he gripped his seat belt with one hand as the Camaro nimbly reversed in-between the other cars in order to get a clear run to the slip road a few miles back, his priority now was to get Sam to safety regardless "that's Ravage? He's huge!" The Dodge Charger slipped in front of him and followed the scout's path out of the congestion, the pair of them cleared the traffic and hand brake turned with a loud squeal of brakes and tyres before peeling off and down the wrong side of the highway. Cars swung out of their way blaring their horns until they realised that the car travelling down beside the Camaro was in fact a police vehicle.

Sam simply gaped at the Dodge Charger when he saw the chameleon effect change and the tactician's original alt. mode reappeared right before the lights flashed on his roof and the sirens sounded. The Witwicky boy then glanced in the rear view mirror to see Ravage shoulder cars out of his way and charge down the road after them, he could feel his heart pounding in his chest and a cold sweat break out on his skin as he watched the big, black cat like Transformer leap up onto several more cars crushing hoods, roofs and wind shields under his dangerous looking talons before springing from the bed of a large truck with claws and fangs bared. Sam could only watch in horror as the tactician swerved in behind them and take the brunt of the attack, the resounding crash of metal meeting metal echoed loudly behind them not to mention the disorientating sound of armour being torn open.

"'Bee we gotta help him!" Sam shouted as he glanced at the dash board before turning in his seat again to find Prowl swinging his back end round and into the crash barrier in hopes to dislodge his unwelcome passenger.

_**:: My orders are to take you to the base Sam.::**_ The Camaro responded reluctantly. The young adult knew that if circumstances had been different, the scout would have dumped him on the asphalt and raced back to his comrade and chase off the beast Transformer.

"But . . . ." Sam trailed off as he watched the black and white Dodge Charger peel away from the central reservation when the panther ripped one of his front paws out of the tactician's armour and hooked it into one of the side doors, the black and white car swerved wildly nearly clipping the other cars before slamming his brakes on. However instead of Ravage letting go, the momentum of the sudden stop pitched the panther over the top of the Dodge and flipped Prowl in the process, the police cruiser landed upon his roof with a loud crash, wheels still spinning whilst Ravage was neatly tossed into another car.

_**:: Ironhide and Sunstreaker are already on their way.::**_ The scout replied as he drove over the central reservation and back onto the right hand side of the road. For now Prowl was on his own until help arrived.

Human onlookers cautiously clambered out of their vehicles and walked toward the scene of devastation, several cars had clipped each other or shunted the person in front in order to avoid being squashed by a large mechanical cat which at this moment in time was still lying deathly still upon the crumpled engine of the 4x4 it had been tossed into. The Dodge Charger with police decals remained upon its roof, the rocking motions brought on by the flip had all but stopped as had the spinning of the wheels, numerous humans who hadn't already flocked to the 4x4 to see if the driver was alive or not, whispered amongst themselves before pointing at the tactician and the blue liquid oozing out of the many claw marks scoring the cruiser's back end and left side door.

Sirens in the background informed a barely coherent Prowl that the human authorities were on their way and he needed to disappear from the scene, each of his sensors flickered on-line and registered several humans very close by. There was no way he could right himself without transforming into his bipedal mode and especially with civilians around least he wanted to blow the Autobot's cover, he groaned inwardly when a sharp pain from his left door wing finally registered in his CPU and from the damage his sensors were screaming at him told him that there was a very high probability that it could send him into stasis lock should he do anything rash. Not that he would that was more of the twins or Jazz's style. However he didn't have the chance to contemplate remaining where he was when his predictive programming sprung up a warning that Ravage was on-lining, he turned every available sensor in the direction of the panther. He nearly cursed out loud at that fact and knew he would have no choice but to blow his cover in order to subdue the Decepticon scout.

The singular orange optic snapped on scaring the humans into taking a step back. The large black cat peeled himself out of the engine block of the 4x4 and turned in the direction of the flipped Dodge Charger, the panther growled deep in his throat and sprung. Prowl's battle computer scarcely had the chance to draw up a plan of action when Ravage sprung at him, he had barely transformed into his bipedal mode when the black panther made contact with him and the pair hit the tarmac before disappearing over the edge of the highway and into the valley below. Prowl's sharp reflexes stopped him from receiving any critical injuries, however he had not had the opportunity to flick in the already damaged left door wing to his back and nearly ripped it from its socket as a result.

The tactician skidded to a halt at the bottom of the rock face and gingerly pushed himself up using the wall behind him as leverage, he gritted his denta when hot white agony flashed across the damaged door wing and he could feel the onset of stasis lock but forced the set of subroutines that would take him off-line, back. He turned his attention to Ravage who pushed himself up onto his all fours and shook off the fall and the dust before snapping his spiny head round to glare at the Dodge Charger. Prowl took no chances this time as the panther charged at him, he pulled out his rifle and fired an acid pellet into the left hip juncture. The big black cat howled in pain when the pellet exploded and started corroding the sensitive cables, tubing and armour plates, the tactician tightened his finger round the trigger ready to fire again when Ravage growled at him, but luckily enough the big, black cat had seen enough combat and bounded off into the bushes with a pronounced limb in his step. Prowl vented a sigh out of his intakes and dropped to sit upon the warm dusty ground with a loud thud as his legs refused to hold him up any longer. The Dodge Charger could feel something warm and wet running down his back and from what his diagnostics were telling him a line from his back that fed into his wing had been shredded, the tactician sent a signal to the shut-down procedures for the sensors in the damaged wing and was relieved when the answering ping returned positively, he quickly activated them and immediately energon and any electrical signals heading for the back appendage stopped. He knew he would pay later for preventing the pain signals from getting through not to mention cutting off the supply of energon to his wing, but right now it didn't concern him as the subroutines that were ready to activate stasis lock went dormant.

Now the situation regarding Ravage was over, Prowl knew he had to somehow try and leave the area without drawing further human attention. He knew without a doubt that the humans who had formed the new organisation know as NEST (Networked Elements: Supporters and Transformers) would have a word to say about him breaking his cover and alerting the human civilians to his existence but there had been no other option at the time; it had been a decision of it being either him or the men and women who were certainly more fragile than him. The tactician pushed himself up into a standing position feeling every inch of his frame protesting against the movement, he was about to take a couple of steps forward when he heard the bushes ahead of him rustle and drew his weapon up ready to take aim when his sensors detected two familiar spark signatures.

"Whoa easy Prowl put the gun down before you shoot someone with it." Sunstreaker said as he stepped out of the trees with his hands raised in hopes to placate the black and white mech.

The military strategist vented a sigh of relief and sub-spaced his weapon before taking a few trembling steps toward the weapons specialist and front-line warrior "What about the humans?" He frowned when he realised that their true forms would without a doubt be seen from the highway above their heads.

"Major Lennox an' Tom Banachek have control of the situation." Ironhide informed him as he looked the battered tactician over "Ratch is gonna flip when he sees ya, ya able to get to the base under ya own power?"

Prowl placed a hand upon the wall next to him to steady himself "No, my left door wing is damaged to the point where transformation is impossible." The weapons specialist nodded and took a couple of steps back before sending a communiqué back to the base asking for Ratchet to come out and meet them "did Bumblebee and Sam get to the base safely?"

"Yea they did." Sunstreaker responded as he looked the tactician over. He winced inwardly, the wounds that Prowl was currently sporting were going to be a bitch to heal especially the claw marks that had dug deep into his armour as anyone who encountered Ravage tended to experience a slow and painful recovery especially if the wounds attracted an infection. The gold Lamborghini watched as the Dodge Charger lowered himself to the floor painfully before glancing over his shoulder to where Ironhide was stood, no doubt keeping an optic out for any Decepticon that was willing to come back and pick a fight with them. The front-line warrior then focused his attention upon the silver paint scrapped across his right forearm and mournfully stared at the superficial damage done. His attention to the scrapes upon his arm drew Prowl's attention and the tactician raised a single optic ridge at him, he scowled when he saw other patches of silver upon the gold mech's armoured plating. Then the Dodge Charger glanced at Ironhide and noticed that the weapons specialist appeared to have acquired silver scrapes to his paint work as well which only served to deepen the frown upon his facial plates.

"Has something happened back at the base that I should be aware of?" Prowl inquired as he also tried to search along his bond with the saboteur and found it disconcertingly quiet.

"There was a little altercation with Jazz." Sunstreaker told him, the tactician snapped his head round to look at him.

"Little? The mech practically had an episode of hysteria." Ironhide corrected the front-line warrior "we had to hold him down so Ratch could sedate him or we'd have a premature sparklin' on our hands."

"Jazz panicked? Over what?" Prowl inquired, he had never seen the calm and cool head of special ops panic over anything, not even when he got himself stuck in the heart of Decepticon territory during one of his ops and had to fight his way out.

Sunstreaker folded his arms across his chest "You, when he heard you report back to base about Ravage, Optimus tried to reason with him that you would be fine against the felinoid." With those last words he raised a single optic ridge at the wounds the tactician sported which were no doubt caused by carelessness although 'carelessness' was not a word he would usually associate with Prowl "but it went in one audio and out the other."

"Sounds familiar." Ironhide rumbled as he continued to scan their surroundings whilst ignoring the short pointed glare the front-line warrior shot in his direction. The three could still hear the sound of emergency sirens wailing and the incoherent shouts of humans as the special forces division closed off the road and escorted the civilians out of the area.

"Where the frag is Ratchet?" Sunstreaker demanded.

"I'm right here." Came a voice from behind them, the three of them drew weapons and turned in the direction of the voice only to lower them when the pale yellow form of the Autobot's medic stepped out from the bushes and trees, his optics were narrowed upon Prowl as he took in every visible injury "you backed the traffic up on the highway through your insane stunt you just pulled."

Prowl pushed himself up into a better sitting position only to regret it when his injuries protested the movement "It was either me or the humans Ratchet, and I had a higher percentage of surviving."

The Hummer removed a portable scanner from sub-space and ran it over the tactician's frame in order to double check that the readings he was getting from his on board sensors were right "Well you'll live alright, I'll patch you up as best I can so you can make the journey home." The medic removed several surgical tools from sub-space and set them on the ground beside him before turning the Dodge Charger's pain receptors off near the injuries, he frowned when he noticed the left wing panel was beginning to grey slightly. He checked the readings he took to find that Prowl had rerouted the supply of energon away from the appendage in order to conserve his energy supply. But none the less he cleaned and sealed closed each of the injuries before moving onto the dislocated door wing that was barely hanging on by a hinge, he could clearly see now the energon and coolant lines that had been shredded and knew that there was only only thing he could do; remove the door here and now and re-attach it once they got back to the base. Ratchet plugged the exposed lines shut before removing the wing the rest of the way, the tactician would no doubt look a little odd on the way back to the base but it was better off then hanging on by a hinge with no guarantees that it would hold out. He ordered Ironhide to transform into his alt. mode and placed the damaged wing in the bed of the black truck before telling Sunstreaker to inform the NEST personnel that they were ready to move out "can you get to your own feet?"

The tactician nodded and used the rock wall to get to his feet, he had to spend a couple of moments adjusting to the difference in balance and in the end flicked the right door wing against his back until he was ready to transform into his alt. mode, Sunstreaker gave them the signal that it was safe to roll out and the three of them sunk into their vehicle modes although Prowl had some trouble when error messages and warning alarms indicated that something was missing but he simply shut it out as he followed the gold Lamborghini. The four of them pulled out of the bushes a few miles south and back onto the highway and away from the carnage wrought by Ravage and his devastating attack.

* * * * *

Prowl on-lined slowly feeling each of his systems protest against the action, he un-shuttered his optics and glanced about the room from where he was lying upon his side and found he was still in the med-bay. He on-lined the sensors along his back and wandered whether Ratchet had finally re-attached the damaged door wing only for an error message to appear upon his HUD. He frowned at that before turning his attention to his diagnostic system that told him 'no the medic hadn't replaced it as of yet', which could only mean there had been more damage done to the appendage than originally thought. The tactician attempted to shift into a better position however a weight upon his right side prevented him from doing so, he turned his head and smiled when he saw Jazz resting comfortably there with his arms pillowed beneath his head. Prowl quietly moved his arm and rested it upon his bond-mate's helm so his thumb could lightly trace the spiked edges of a fin, the saboteur stirred slightly in his recharge but only shifted closer to the Dodge Charger to make himself more comfortable.

Prowl had never had the chance to find out if Jazz was alright once he got back to the base, Ratchet had ushered him into one of the surgical suites and left momentarily to collect every tool he needed in order to fix the deep rents in the tactician's armour. Optimus asked him to give him a quick account of what had happened before being kicked out of the repair bay by the CMO. He already knew that he would pay dearly for the door wing he had starved of energon as no doubt it would give him no end of grief for being abused like that, and now security would be upped further to ensure that none of their human allies became the unsuspecting victim of a surprise Decepticon attack. The tactician gently shifted himself onto his back so Jazz was now lying upon his abdomen before continuing his administrations upon the horn he had been touching, the saboteur sighed softly before their bond opened up fully and he was subjected to the exchange going on between his mate and offspring. He smiled when he heard the Solstice humming internally to their sparkling and was rewarded in return with immature thoughts and feelings and the occasional boisterous punch and kick that he actually felt vibrate against his own plating. The communication between his mate, himself and their offspring was starting to become a regular thing and the sparkling showed open displays of acrobatics when his father was around, unlike before when he seemed to sense when Prowl was around and would go quiet.

Even the others had shared a few moments talking to the sparkling despite how weird it seemed although sometimes the boisterous movements got a little too much for Jazz and he had to call it a day, but everyone seemed more excited about the infant the closer it came to the end of the Solstice's gestation cycle. He sent a few loving thoughts toward his creation through the bond and the sparkling suddenly latched onto his presence and bombarded his processor with everything he could muster. Prowl sighed softly knowing full well that their creation was definitely going to be a talker which meant there would be no peace for him.

_::// Told ya he was a talker \\:: _Jazz spoke to him.

Prowl was taken slightly by surprise at the sudden communication between Jazz and himself as it had been a long time since they had last spoken through their bond _::// Yes you did, and he seems rather active today.\\::_

_::// Ya have no idea, I just wish he'd stop drummin' against ma spark case, its un-nervin'.\\::_ The Solstice said. The tactician chuckled before sending calming thoughts toward the sparkling and the reaction to them was almost instantaneous, the infant went quiet and Jazz was given the respite he needed from the sparkling despite them sharing the same shell at the moment _::// it won't last long, he's not likin' the fact that the chamber he's in is getting' smaller.\\::_

_::// He'll only have to put up with it a little while longer.\\::_ Prowl replied as he pulled his mate tighter. He knew he would have to address the situation that occurred with his mate whilst he had been fighting against Ravage but decided now was not the best time besides he didn't want to ruin this small moment between the three of them.

_::// I'm sure he can but I don't think ma internals can stand any more punishment.\\::_ Jazz told him as he made himself more comfortable on his mate's chest, his left audio was pressed close to warm chest plates in order to hear the deep thrum of Prowl's spark and the steady beat of his fuel pump.

_::// Then rest while you can love.\\::_ The tactician said as he moved his hand that had been caressing the Solstice's right horn and smoothed his fingers down the back of his helm, Jazz shifted slightly once again to make himself even more comfortable, if that was even possible before shutting down his systems for recharge. Prowl retreated from his mate's end of the bond after soothing his offspring also into his own recharge cycle and wrapped his arms around Jazz's frame before joining the saboteur in recharge.

* * * * * * * * * *

The late Summer sun was sitting low upon the horizon casting the sky into various shades of colour, a cool gentle breeze swept over the suburb town of Tranquillity bringing some relief to the stagnant heat that had plagued its citizens during the day. Small fluffy clouds drifted lazily across the darkening sky but they did not signify any bad weather on the way which was good news to the eight different vehicles (four of them sentient) parked beside a fallow corn field. Luckily enough the road was rarely ever travelled by the public so they were no cause for concern to the four alien vehicles sat idling. On the way there Sunstreaker had bitched about his paint work when they proceeded down the dirt track, Ironhide had almost lost his cool and transformed on the spot in order to shut the gold Lamborghini up by shooting him. A couple of the humans that had accompanied Major Lennox winged about the heat and Ratchet was nearly prompted to roll backwards on his wheels and run the pair of them over. Although inwardly he would have to agree with the humans, the summer heat was somewhat unpleasant and could understand why a certain Solstice disappeared into the lower recesses of the base and would only come back up toward the surface at the end of the day. The medic was drawn out of his thoughts when he heard a couple of the humans shift uncomfortably near him.

"When did they say they were gonna make their appearance?" One of the young sergeant's asked from where he was stood next to one of the NEST vehicles, sleeves of his desert coloured coat was rolled up to his elbows. He had just transferred in from Great Britain and although he had served out in Iraq a couple of years ago, the weather here in Tranquillity took him somewhat completely by surprise.

"Some time soon Sergeant." Lennox replied from where he was perched on top of the GMC Top kick Truck's hood, the Major was leant back on his hands with his legs swinging back and forth.

"In fact sooner than you think." Ironhide rumbled after receiving a communiqué from Mirage back at the base, the other Cybertronians were all converting to their bipedal modes and eventually the weapons specialist was able to once Lennox had leapt off his alt. mode and retreated to a safe distance. Suddenly overhead there was a loud roaring noise, all the humans glanced up to see five flaming comet like structures soar across the night sky leaving a trailing blaze of atmospheric gases that had been heated up by their decent. The five of them roared overhead and within a few seconds an earth shattering noise filled the silence and the ground trembled from the impacts. The group slowly and cautiously began moving toward the field and the impact zone several metres away. After the spectacle that surrounded Optimus and his team landing on Earth four years ago, they decided to play it safe and have incoming teams land in a location and then choose their alternate modes from using the humans internet. After all they didn't always need a vehicle to scan although it did require a few modifications to their transcanning nodes to take on a new form.

Major Lennox watched as Optimus, Sunstreaker and Ironhide rolled out their weapons preparing for any Decepticons that might show their face plates and attempt to attack their comrades whilst they were unprotected by the armour the current Earth team had. The human captain signalled to his men to keep their eyes peeled for any sign of the beast Transformer Ravage or the newest Decepticon arrival who apparently could teleport. That fact didn't sit comfortably with Will since it could complicate things in future battles with the Decepticons although if he had heard right from the briefing early on in the week, the team about to arrive on Earth was bringing a sharp shooter with them which would provide a good advantage in battle. They slowly reached the landing site and when they arrived they saw five steaming trenches and a couple of trees that had accidentally caught fire and then much to Will's surprise were put out by a fire hose. The human Major had to do a double take at that, there was no Autobot on the base who had taken on a alt. form that resembled a fire truck.

Suddenly the quiet that had fallen upon the field they were walking through was broken by high pitched clicking and squealing and Lennox recognised it as the distinct dialect of the Cybertronian's native language. He had heard Ironhide curse in their native tongue on several occasions to identify it now. He warily glanced at the white and red one that seemed to be throwing a fit at his commander whilst pointing at him and his team.

"Calm yourself Red Alert." Optimus rumbled as he held up a hand to silence the glitching mech "and here on Earth you are to speak the humans chosen language." The mech's seemingly paranoid behaviour told Lennox this had to be the security director the miscreants of the base had warned him about when he had asked about the new members that would be joining them on Earth shortly. Sideswipe appeared to be unnaturally gleeful about Red Alert coming to Earth as no doubt the red Lamborghini was planning something for the mech.

The mech designated as Red Alert seemed to pause for a moment before he began his triad anew in their own language " . . . but Optimus they are a potential security risk and do not withhold the capabilities to ward off mental intrusion to their primitive brains."

"Hey I take offence to that man, we ain't as primitive as you think." Master sergeant Epps shouted up at the security director who schooled a glare at the African American soldier before continuing to whine in Prime's audios about the humans and the security risk they posed. The mech wasn't going to take it well when they got back to base with twenty percent of the base consisting of humans, Lennox mused.

"So do we get any introductions?" Graham asked as he stood by Ironhide, the weapons specialist glanced down at the young British Sergeant before transferring his gaze to Lennox and Epps who nodded in agreement.

"Well there's no need to guess which one is Red Alert." Ironhide began.

"Yea there's no doubt about that, he's worse than I thought big guy." Will said as he watched the exchange between Optimus and the newcomer Red Alert.

The GMC Top kick Truck folded his arms across his broad chest "This is mild compared to some of the paranoid fits he can work himself into." The army rangers looked at the weapons specialist horrified "but he usually glitches the same way Prowl does when it all becomes too much for him." Lennox and Epps cringed at that, they clearly remembered the tactician glitching and collapsing a few months ago and still felt somewhat guilty for that incident. But they could honestly admit that they had gotten a little carried away with the conversation regarding the fatherhood Prowl would soon be experiencing and had not expected the tactician to fritz and go off-line from a 'simple' conversation "anyway, the small, fuchsia coloured one is Arcee, she's our sharp shooter."

"She?" Epps asked glancing up at the weapons specialist before looking over at the femme who was conversing with Ratchet in low tones.

"Arcee was one of the few femmes under Elita One's command back on Cybertron." Ironhide replied then moved on "the other black bot is Trailbreaker, he's our defensive strategist and the green one next to him is Hound; a tracking specialist and one of Jazz's mechs."

"Oh yea that's gonna be one great conversation, 'by the way your boss is pregnant and is a down right moody git when he wants to be'." Lennox said as he folded his arms across his chest "I assume Optimus will brief them all on that little situation? Or are we gonna let them find out for themselves?"

A deep rumble that sounded very much like a chuckle resonated from Ironhide's throat as he considered the option "They deserve a fighting chance, least if they blow it we can say 'we told you so'."

"That's evil man." Grahams said as he swiped his right forearm across his forehead, the temperature had only lessened slightly and he was looking forward to the cool reprieve of the base and a cold shower "so whose the fire truck guy next to the whiner?"

Ironhide glanced at the young sergeant before his azure gaze fell upon the mostly red frame of the head of search and rescue "That's Inferno and the so called 'whiner' is Red Alert." The latter mentioned mech looked as though he was to fritz double time when one of Lennox's men came a little too close for comfort "they're down a member."

"How so?" Lennox inquired as he glanced at each of the new arrivals making sure to memorise who was who.

"Skyfire was supposed to be with them." The weapons specialist replied "although where we're gonna fit him is goin' to be a good question." The black GMC watched as confused expressions fell upon the humans faces "he's slightly larger than Prime."

"There is no way man are we gonna fit him in the base, Prime's head nearly touches the ceiling in some areas as it is." Epps said as he folded his arms across his chest.

"That's why we requested to have the base expanded further to include a runway and several more hangars." Ratchet replied as he moved toward the weapons specialist with Arcee close behind them, the three of them glanced up at her and noticed that she was actually much smaller than Jazz in stature and height "it was all covered in the last meeting we had." The three men glanced at one another, silently asking each other to confirm what the medic was telling them and when Lennox nodded, the other two knew they were in trouble.

The young British solider looked sheepishly up at the three large mechanoids "Whoops I must have dosed off."

"Humans, they have much shorter attention spans than a certain pair of twins we all know." Ratchet groused before muttering something in Cybertronian. Sunstreaker glared at him when he heard the intended insults in their native tongue.

"Autobots assemble." Prime rumbled from where he was stood with Red Alert, the security director looked visibly cowed but covered it up by constantly scanning their surroundings watching out for any potential risk to the group of humans and Autobots. Optimus glanced at each of the ones stood before him and although he happened to notice that Skyfire was missing, he was not overly concerned about the Veritech since the scientist was very capable of chasing off Skywarp should the seeker make his appearance, although he would inquire about the scientist's whereabouts on the way back to the base "transform and roll out." The nine different Cybertronians converted into their alt. modes that all looked completely out of place in a corn field whilst Lennox and his men rushed back to the NEST vehicles and fired up their engines before rolling out on ahead of the convoy.

On the way back to the base Optimus explained to the new comers that they would each have an appointment with a human known as Tom Banachek in the morning in order to gather information regarding their status, a brief description of their alt. modes, their personality, the VIN numbers on their licence plates in case there was ever an incident regarding them and the public. He could almost hear Red Alert wanting to start a triad about giving information so freely to the humans but quickly silenced him by telling him that they had all done it and that files upon the humans they were allied with were also available to obtain and read. The turn off for the base appeared and the gates slid open allowing the convoy of vehicles onto the restricted site, the humans on patrol watched as the vehicles they were acquainted with on a daily basis were joined with a new set, a couple of them were taken by surprise when they saw someone riding the motorcycle but once the fuchsia coloured bike was in the relative safe confines of the base, the rider disappeared into thin air.

They were greeted at the entrance of the base by Prowl, Jazz, Wheeljack and Mirage as Sideswipe was stuck on monitoring duty, the humans drove the military Humvees to one of the smaller hangers where such ground vehicles were stored before they headed into the base. The tactician, engineer and spy all stood to attention as their leader transformed whilst Jazz looked ready to bolt back into the underground levels, well he would have done if not for the pair of handcuffs linking him to his bond-mate who had expressed that it was his duty to be there when the new arrivals appeared. The new Autobots all transformed and moved to greet the others especially Hound who made his way across to Mirage and the pair shared a brief hug and touch of foreheads, glad to be finally reunited at last.

"Alright rest and recuperate and I expect to see you all at oh nine hundred tomorrow morning for a debriefing." Prime told his soldiers before heading into the underground with Ironhide and Ratchet following close behind, Sunstreaker was not far behind as he all but dashed into the base complaining about the bugs stuck in his grill. Prowl shook his head in amusement as he stepped across to the new comers dragging his reluctant mate with him, he reached into his sub-space and pulled out a few data-pads which he handed out to the new arrivals. Each one gave them a brief layout of the base and where their assigned quarters were for the time being, they had managed to convert one of the cargo bays into temporary accommodation until plans for expansion could be put into motion. Red Alert started scanning the layout of the complex upon the data-pad and started muttering to himself as he headed into the base.

"I betta follow 'im, he'll no doubt start lookin' for any flaws there is." Inferno said "it's good ta see ya guys anyway." Prowl dipped his head in acknowledgement and nudged Jazz with his elbow, the Solstice flashed a brief smile at the Mitsubishi Fuso Fire Truck but quickly returned to sulking which warranted a confused expression to appear upon Inferno's facial plates _:/I Shall explain later\: _The frown only seemed to deepen but when Prowl refused to enlighten him, he took that as his queue to head into the base. The Dodge Charger glanced across to the others to find them talking to the new arrivals however his attention was quickly drawn away from them when he heard a whine escape his mate, he was about to tell Jazz that they would head inside soon when his gaze fell upon the Solstice. He frowned when he saw the saboteur wearing a pained grimace upon his facial plates whilst two of his fingers were pressed against an area on his grill.

Prowl felt his fuel pump skip a beat hoping that it was just a flutter of movement from the sparkling and nothing more "Jazz?"

"I'm fine, sparklin's got a limb wedged where he shouldn't have." The saboteur replied as he attempted to convince the infant to shift his position with small magnetic pulses but with little success "see if you can convince him to shift his skid plate." The tactician shook his head in amusement before following along their bond and touching the infant's consciousness, the feat was becoming much easier every time they connected and the sparkling responded the same way he always did; with a punishing acrobatic movement and a barrage of immature communication "I said convince him ta move not pound ma internals into scrap."

"Sorry." Prowl replied as he held onto his mate who was hunched over grasping his chest plates with his free hand.

"Is everything alright?" Mirage inquired as he made his way across to them with Hound close behind him, Prowl glanced past the spy to see the others also looking at them with concern.

"Just peachy." Jazz rasped out as he attempted to calm his sparkling's chaotic thought processes and movements "kids just bein' a little energetic." With that he glared at Prowl and the tactician managed to look a little sheepish. He couldn't help it if the infant reacted to his presence like that every time he spoke to it.

"Kid?" Hound inquired as he glanced at the bonded pair before catching his own mate's gaze.

"Jazz is with sparkling." The Ford GT told his partner, the Jeep Wrangler's optic ridges rose upwards in surprise as he glanced at the Solstice.

"But I thought the Allspark was gone?" The green mech asked.

Jazz sighed through his vents when he saw that the others were wearing a mixture of inquisitive and confused looks upon their facial plates "Looks like I gotta lot of explainin' to do but I ain't doin' it out here, come on I'll update ya on everythin' that's been goin' on Earth for the past four years." The Solstice pulled on the cuffs linking him to his mate and led the way back into the base more than happy to get out of the muggy heat that didn't seem to be lifting, the others all exchanged glances before following him inside. Prowl sighed inwardly as he had no choice but to follow his mate knowing that this was

going to be a long night. The group headed down to the recreation room where they all grabbed a mug of energon and a place to sit, Mirage took the opportunity to curl up on the same couch as his bond-mate, drinking in as much of his presence now they were together again. It wasn't long before Hound inquired as to how the first team knew where the Allspark was located. Jazz explained to them about the ill fated meeting with the humans lost deep in space whom revealed that Megatron and the cube were on their planet. He told the new arrivals about their landing on Earth, the subsequent meeting of their now human allies, their first clash with the humans that resulted in Bumblebee's capture and the run to Mission city once they had met up with the newly released scout. The Solstice also explained to them about the battle against the Decepticons, but left out the part where he had been terminated by Megatron early on in the fight. However he was able to tell them about the death of the Decepticon tyrant at the hands of Sam Witwicky by recalling what the others had told him once he had been reactivated.

Trailbreaker asked what had happened to the cube, and the saboteur informed them that it had been destroyed although a small shard of it had remained. However that was when the silver mech dropped the bomb shell upon his comrades by telling them that he had been killed during the attack only to be revived at the expense of the remaining shard. Although the new arrivals had been shocked to learn that Jazz had been deactivated, they were grateful that he was back amongst them. Mirage picked up the tale from there since not much happened in the time between the saboteur being revived and his group arriving on Earth, he happily told the others that Prowl and Jazz had finally bonded to which the pair were then greeted with 'congratulations' and 'about time' from Hound, Trailbreaker and Arcee. The Solstice couldn't help but tell them about the reception afterwards where a rather intoxicated Optimus and Ironhide stole the limelight of the night when the pair of them began changing the lyrics to some of the songs playing. Prowl had not been too amused by it but Jazz had simply taken in its stride and even joined the duo. The Prime had apologised to the pair the morning after but the saboteur told him it was nice to see their leader relaxed and having a good time, even if the humans were asking for 'brain bleach' after seeing the Autobot's weapon specialist trying to pole dance. The new arrivals had burst out laughing at this and Hound asked whether they had any recordings of the 'incident', Prowl had calmly stated that with the twins around there were bound to be recordings for future blackmailing purposes. The new arrivals then spoke of their own adventures after hearing about what had gone on during the four years before they arrived on Earth, many of which had been amusing and sometimes even traumatising to the individuals who had been involved in such hilarious situations.

It was a couple of hours before Arcee finally broached the subject regarding the unborn Cybertronian, Prowl watched his mate as Jazz placed a clawed hand upon his chest plates when the femme inquired about their child. The saboteur told her that the infant had been a by-product of a spark merge several months ago, that fact had many of the other exclaiming loudly that they didn't want to hear about Jazz and Prowl's interfacing habits. The tactician glared at his mate whilst the Solstice simply shrugged his shoulders and chuckled at the playful but disgusted looks upon his comrade's facial plates. The silver mech quickly pulled them back to the subject of the sparkling when he told them that it was currently developing its own protoform inside his lower chest. The new arrivals had asked what it felt like to carry in such a bizarre way and whether or not he could feel its movements, Jazz told them that he could indeed feel its movements as the sparkling was currently 'shuffling' about in its confined space. Arcee was the first to brave putting one of her hands upon Jazz's slightly distorted chest plating to feel the infant's restless movements.

"Wow." She said as she felt a small vibration which could have been a kick or a punch.

"It gets a little too much sometimes." The saboteur replied as the pink femme retracted her hand and made her way back to her seat.

"So do we know if we're gonna have a mech or femme entering our fold?" Trailbreaker inquired.

"I'm afraid not." The military strategist replied as he sent calming and comforting thoughts to his energetic creation, he heard his spark-mate vent a sigh of relief as the little one's movements became a gently patter instead of boisterous punches and kicks.

"It'd be nice to have another femme around here." The fuchsia motorcycle said.

"I believe you'll find half the base in agreement to that." Prowl told her as he cast a sideways glance at his mate, he could see Jazz's good mood slowly evaporating.

Hound glanced at the military strategist "Let me guess there's a running bet as to whether its gonna be a mech or a femme."

The Dodge Charger nodded "I believe the odds are 70/30 in favour of it being a mech."

"I believe it doesn't matter either way as long as the sparkling is strong and healthy." Mirage said before taking a few sips from his mug.

The Jeep Wrangler turned to his mate "C'mon Mirage, ain't ya a little bit curious as to what its gonna be? I mean we've not had a sparkling born into the Autobots for over a millennia since Bumblebee was pretty much the last one."

The spy placed his mug down upon the coffee table and turned in his seat to glance at his bonded fully "Very well, mech." Arcee made a sound that sounded very similar to a human snorting at that, she knew her male comrades would most likely choose to go with mech. After all they were much more common than femmes.

"Anyway mechs an' femme I'm gonna hit th' berth but I shall see ya all in th' mornin'." The Solstice told the group as he stiffly pushed himself out of the couch he had been sat in, the Dodge Charger watched him closely and knew the usual aches and pains had to be plaguing his mate again. The bonded pair bode everyone good night before they headed out of the room and back to their quarters, Prowl watched how his mate's entire posture seemed to sag as they made the long trek to the residential level and knew that Jazz would require a massage to soothe away the aches and pains before his mate could contemplate recharge. The tactician noticed his lover's steps become much more weary until the doors to their quarters came into view, then the saboteur's steps quickened. The silver mech hastily input the code and stepped inside the moment the doors whooshed open, the black and white mech chuckled in amusement when he saw the Solstice make a beeline for the couch, but he quickly intercepted his bonded and led him into their room.

Jazz collapsed upon the berth none too gracefully and groaned when his joints all began voicing their different complaints, Prowl disappeared quickly to retrieve the small tub of absorbent ointment Ratchet had prescribed for the saboteur. The medic had explained to the tactician that it was a rather effective treatment for carriers as it posed no risk to the developing sparkling like normal pain relief did. That and the massage was likely to put Jazz in a more complacent mood for the Dodge Charger to deal with. Prowl returned with the small tub in his hands and nudged his mate further into the berth before he sat down upon the edge.

"Where are the aches troubling you love?" The tactician asked as he unscrewed the lid and placed the tub down next to his right hip.

"Knees an' ankle joints as usual." The saboteur replied "an' ma back … I'm not even gonna start about ma back." The black and white hummed in response as he dipped the tips of his index and middle fingers into the white translucent ointment whilst his other hand gently gripped one of the silver mech's legs and the rested the knee joint in his lap. Prowl then gently applied the fingers coated in ointment to the knee joint and began massaging it into the strong and powerful muscle cables, he smiled when he heard his bonded vent a sigh of approval. The tactician continued his administrations of applying the ointment to both Jazz's knees and ankles before he decided to move onto the next task, he wiped his hands clean on a cloth then attempted to coax his mate into lying upon his side. The saboteur grumbled tiredly at him but none the less complied, Prowl knew Jazz distinctly hated lying upon either side at the moment as the infant tended to be rather energetic in his movements, but thankfully the sparkling decided to give its carrier some much needed reprieve and stayed quiet, although it would produce a flutter every now and again.

"I can't wait for all of this to be over an' done wit'." The saboteur muttered then hissed in pain when his spark-mate applied too much pressure to one of his back struts.

"Sorry." The Dodge Charger apologised as he moved his hand to another area upon his bonded's back, he could feel the tension in the muscle cables when he slid clawed fingers under armoured plating. The black and white mech was rewarded with a hum of appreciation a few seconds later as he continued to massage the muscle cables in his bonded's upper back "I believe Ratchet stressed that the last trimester of the gestation cycle was going to be unpleasant."

"I know he did." Jazz replied as he off-lined his optics and shuttered them, his mate's administrations were quickly lulling him into recharge and he would have fallen asleep had it not been for the solid kick or punch from the sparkling "I knew th' peace an' quiet was too good ta last." There was another muffled 'clang' as the unborn Cybertronian infant voiced its protest about its carrier lying on his side for too long "urgh little mech is bossy." Prowl withdrew his fingers from under his mate's back armour to allow the saboteur to roll onto his back, another grumble escaped the silver mech's vocaliser as the sparkling renewed its boisterous movements. The tactician screwed the lid back on the tub and placed it upon the floor next to the berth, he glanced down at his bonded and saw the small pained grimace upon Jazz's facial plates. He also happened to notice that his mate had the fingertips of one of his clawed hands wedged up under chest armour in the attempt to alleviate some discomfort that was being bestowed upon him.

"Let me." The Dodge Charger said as he gently grasped his bonded's wrist and withdrew the clawed fingertips out from under the plating before he replaced them with his own. The saboteur arched slightly when he felt his mate brush his fingertips against the taut and strained muscle cables of his lower chest, there wasn't much room to manoeuvre his fingers around in since the sparkling's growing bulk was steadily taking up the space, so he decided upon a different tactic. Prowl removed his fingers from under his mate's plating and brushed the tip of his index finger down the nearly invisible seam where his mate's chest plates would part "open up for me love." There was a soft hiss before the saboteur's chest plates parted and opened fully to expose his inner workings, the tactician traced the smooth casing that housed the spark that perfectly resonated with his own earning a soft moan from the silver mech. A small smile quirked the corners of Prowl's lip components as he traced them down toward the gentle slope and across the muscle cables that usually protected the inner workings had been pushed out as the sparkling continued to grow. With his mate's chest plates parted, the tactician could easily discern his offspring's movements as the infant's bulk rolled inside of his flexible chamber. The Dodge Charger had been concerned that the sparkling would interfere with Jazz's fuel pump and air intakes but being under the careful observation of Ratchet put Prowl's mind at ease. After all if the infant's growth did begin to hinder the saboteur's inner workings in any way, the medic had advised them that he would have to perform separation surgery immediately and place the sparkling in an incubation chamber.

The tactician heard his mate hum in appreciation as his fingertips massaged the strained cables and tubes although the Solstice would grumble every now and again when the unborn infant tested the flexibility of its chamber. The black and white often felt a limb of some kind push upwards as he massaged the muscle cables, it was the closest he was going to get to his child until it was ready to greet the world.

"Ya know we still haven't decided upon a name." Jazz said drawing Prowl out of his thoughts.

"I know." The tactician replied as he rested his helm lightly upon his mate's lower chest listening to the humming of the saboteur's systems and faint and almost indiscernible ones of their offspring "I have been contemplating two that I believe may suit our sparkling,"

Jazz tilted his head up so he could meet his mate's gaze "Oh been holdin' out on me?"

A small smile curled up one corner of the Dodge Charger's lip components "Hardly, I've just been spending time on whether or not they would actually fit. But the more I connect with our infant, the more I realise they probably will."

"Well are ya gonna tell me or are ya gonna leave me hangin'?" The saboteur inquired as he traced the hieroglyphs upon his bonded's left audio.

The black and white mech suddenly appeared nervous "Then tell me what you think of Bluestreak for a mech and Rhapsody for a femme?"

A smile appeared upon the Solstice's facial plates "Prowler I think they're fantastic, but I gotta know they wouldn't have anythin' ta do wit' th' fact our kid's gonna be a talker are they?"

Prowl frowned at his mate as he lifted his head up so he could begin his administrations anew "I believed you said you wanted a name that would fit with its personality."

"I did an' I think ya made th' right call." The silver mech told him as he sent a wave of reassurance from the bond although he knew he wouldn't be able to tell if his mate had felt comfort from it with the link muted on his end. Jazz hated not being able to open the bond as fully as he had been able to before he had become sparked, as now he was left to guess what mood his bonded was in through his body language. However he plenty of experience of being able to read the tactician through small subtle gestures he did in order to indicate what mood the black and white mech was in. An involuntary yawn suddenly escaped the saboteur's vocaliser which surprised the pair of them, but Prowl knew that with the sparkling calming down in its acrobatics it would now be the best opportunity for his spark-mate to fall into recharge.

"Sleep love." The tactician murmured as he shifted his hand so his bonded could close his chest plates, the Solstice nodded groggily before allowing his systems to fall off-line. The Dodge Charger smiled as he gently caressed one of Jazz's cheek arches before he pushed himself up from the berth, he quietly crept out of the bedroom and into the lounge where he proceeded across to one of the book shelves they had installed. Prowl plucked off one of the few data-pads that were stacked on there then made his way back to the berth, he dimmed the lights before clambering into the berth and settled on his left side propping himself up on a elbow. He heard Jazz murmur in his sleep before the saboteur rolled over partially onto his right side, tucking himself in close to the tactician. The Dodge Charger chuckled quietly to himself before turning on the data-pad however he found himself diverting away from the contents of the pad, the black and white mech had never truly admitted to his bonded how he was both excited yet nervous about becoming a parent. Although deep down Prowl knew that Jazz had an inkling that he couldn't wait to hold their child in his arms, and even though they had challenges to face he was willing to greet them head on. After all hope was scarce these days. The tactician drew himself out of his thoughts and turned his attention to the data-pad but instead decided to discard it and snuggle up to the saboteur, simply choosing to observe his mate in his sleep before joining him in recharge.

* * * * * * * * * *

**Same evening . . . .**

The last few days they had hit nothing but dead ends in regards to the humans intelligence, every research facility they had stumbled across had been decommissioned four years ago after the battle in Mission city and were empty. However that did not stop Barricade and Frenzy from completing their mission even if they had to travel several thousand miles a day in order to reach the abandoned research facilities, the shock trooper's presence there was never questioned although a few eye brows did raise when people saw him simply because his markings told them he was a little out of his jurisdiction. Then the un-maker appeared to smile upon them as a communiqué between a human male and female in a secluded area told the pair of Decepticons that the female had taken information from the Autobot base regarding the new arrivals coming to Earth and of the unborn sparkling. The human male seemed to brighten up regarding the information upon the infant Cybertronian, Barricade continued to listen in as the female operative inquired as to the status of the current project taking place at a place called Area 51 in the Nevada desert.

The human Simmons, as Frenzy discovered hacking the government files, told her that everything was proceeding as planned and that they were expecting research material from the old NBE site in Antarctica to arrive soon which included a contained residual trace of Allspark energy. Barricade communicated the new information over to Skywarp who was currently following up a lead in Egypt and told him to head over to the planet's south pole and intercept the shipping. The seeker at first seemed reluctant because of the mass of ice and water but none the less carried out the order and switched off his comm.'s, the shock trooper returned his attention to the two humans to find them parting ways, he laughed inwardly at the notion that the Autobots had no idea they had a spy amongst their ranks before turning his engine over and following after the black sedan the human male had clambered into.

He followed at a distance so the humans couldn't detect them, Frenzy was unusually quiet as he sat in the back seat typing away furiously at the data terminal as they transverse the highways and interstates in the dead of night. Barricade mulled over the various possibilities of why the humans wanted information connected to the sparkling unless it was just natural curiosity however he highly doubted that especially if Simmons history with the Autobots was to go by. For some reasons the humans had their own agenda regarding the infant Cybertronian which could prove troublesome for his brother and his bond-mate and if that was the case it would be better if they got their hands upon him first before they did, after all he would not allow the humans to get their grubby hands on it. Barricade started at that, never before had he experienced a surge of protective want towards the unborn Autobot sparkling and checked the fortified block to make sure none of his brother's emotions were filtering through the sibling bond they still shared.

It took a gruelling six hours on the road to reach their destination that appeared at first glance to be a military installation consisting of a radio tower, several fighter jets sat on their designated platforms and a few standard air craft hangers. Tall fencing with razor wire circling the top surrounded the area to make sure civilians were kept out although Barricade very much doubted that there were humans (besides the ones on the base) this far away from civilisation. Frenzy began chattering wildly in his back seat as he attempted to bring up every file regarding Area 51 on the data terminal even if it meant breaking through as many government firewalls as possible and leaving the NSA with a sting of viruses that would keep them busy for weeks if not months should they attempt to locate them. The shock trooper unfolded a piece of equipment from his roof and pointed it in the direction of the air base filtering through the numerous communications bouncing back and forth between the humans until he located the one he was after.

The human Simmons greeted another outside of the base's largest hanger before proceeding inside, the new human asked about the information retrieval and Barricade couldn't help a dark chuckle escape him before returning his attention to the two humans and the conversation filtering back and forth. Frustratingly there was no Intel on what the supposed disbanded group of sector seven individuals had planned for the Autobot sparkling but what did catch his audios was the mention of NBE-1, he had heard that term NBE being used to label them and when he searched his memory files for this specific one and he felt his fuel pump stutter in his chest as recognition hit him head on. Frenzy stopped typing upon the keyboard and chirped curiously when he felt a change in his partner's normal system operations.

"Those who don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it." The shock trooper responded to the hacker's chirps, Frenzy cocked his head to the side curiously before his attention fell upon the data terminal when Barricade rifled through the files they had collected and displayed a certain one in front of the small silver Decepticon before playing a piece of audio he had picked up. Frenzy's demeanour changed instantly and he began bouncing excitedly on his aft whilst throwing insults toward the humans and proclamations that they were all doomed in Cybertronian.

Yes doomed indeed especially once the other Decepticons that were due to arrive on Earth shortly were given this valuable piece of information regarding their true leader.

* * * * * * * * * *

Whoops I realise this is the second time I've hurt poor Prowler *runs from angry Jazz*. And I wasn't sure if Graham (British guy in the next film) is a sergeant but until I know for sure it's gonna stay that way. And I tried to stick to everyone's alt. modes as possible with a few changes, took me ages to settle on an appropriate one for Red Alert. I also realised looking back on my previous chapters that I started something with Simmons and needed to address his intentions just not completely yet.

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	8. New Arrival

As usual I want to thank everyone whose been reading this story and so present to you complete and utter fluff that will melt you into happy puddles of goo lol!

**Warnings**: The use of profanities, slight Hound x Mirage.

I've tried to wheedle out as much of the grammar and spelling errors as usual. Hope you guys enjoy reading this as much as I did writing it!

The recreation room was unusually quiet, Optimus mused as he stepped through the doors, he was mildly surprised to see that the television screen was devoid of any film, game, TV programme or news bulletins. Even the humans sat in their corner of the room were quiet and subdued, the rustling of paper betraying the silence every now and again. The Prime glanced around the room taking in the postures and the positions of the off-duty mechs and humans, he spotted the red and gold frames of the twins sat upon the large couch. The pair of them were quiet and had adopted the same posture as the other; slouched in the couch with their arms folded across their chest, feet shoulder width apart. They even wore the same identical far away expressions upon their facial plates, it was most the most quietest and subdued he had ever seen them. The semi Peter-built glanced away from the two Lamborghinis to Trailbreaker who was at in one of the corners currently going over a couple of data-pads, a small frown marring the defence strategist's facial plates betrayed just how distracted he truly was. Optimus spotted the fuchsia coloured form of Arcee curled up in one of the smaller chairs, seemingly staring off into the middle distance. The Prime knew Hound and Mirage were both out on patrol and would be back shortly whilst Bumblebee was with Sam and Mikaela for the day, although the scout checked in periodically to find out if there were any updates.

Ironhide had disappeared down to the firing range with Major Lennox and Sergeant Epps, declaring that they planned to shot a few targets, but the semi Peter-built knew that the weapons specialist was worried about Jazz. Even Skyfire (who had finally made an appearance on Earth) had escaped the base, but only because Optimus had assigned him aerial surveillance duty, however Prime knew the scientist would take the opportunity to observe some of the local animals in their natural habitats. The semi Peter-built sat at one of the many tables and placed his mug of energon he had acquired in front of him, he removed a few reports from sub-space and settled into wait with his fellow Autobots. However the silence in the room didn't last long when Sideswipe finally decided to break it.

"Urgh how long is this gonna take?" The red Lamborghini asked of no-one in particular.

"As long as it takes." Trailbreaker spoke up from where he was sat.

Optimus chuckled when he heard the whine of frustration leave the red Lamborghini's vocaliser "Trailbreaker is right Sideswipe, Cybertronian labour in any form can last for hours."

The front-liner pushed himself up fully and glanced over the top of the couch at his leader "But Jazz has already been in labour for hours."

"That's a bit of an exaggeration Sideswipe." The Prime began as he took a sip from his mug "Jazz has been in labour for four hours and could be for another several depending upon how quick this sparkling wants to greet the world."

"Urgh I slaggin' hate waitin' games." The red Lamborghini grumbled as he slumped back into the couch.

"How do you think Prowl feels." Sunstreaker told his twin.

"Well if the sparkling has a stubborn streak as good as our resident saboteur does, we won't see him or her for another year." The semi Peter-built said jokingly, there were murmurs of agreement from those assembled in the rec. room.

"I'm not sure, Prowl's got a pretty stubborn streak and if it takes after him then we won't see it at all." Arcee replied without glancing up. The Prime smirked at that from behind his mug before his gaze travelled to the rec. room doors, he wasn't the only one looking expectedly at the doors hoping to hear some sliver of news. His spark sank in its chamber when Hound and Mirage stepped into the room, fresh off from their patrol.

"Anything?" The tracking specialist inquired.

"Nope, zip, nadda." Sideswipe replied as he moodily grabbed the remote control off the small table and began flipping through the channels. After finding nothing to distract him, he turned the TV off and threw the remote onto the table, the device skimmed across the surface and clattered upon the floor "I wonder if its possible to die of boredom."

"I'll kill you in a minute." Sunstreaker hissed at his twin.

"Sunstreaker, Sideswipe." Optimus rumbled in warning "I can always assign you something to do Sideswipe."

"No, no I'm fine." The red Lamborghini told his leader as he scampered around the small table and plucked the remote off the floor. He met the glare his brother shot in his direction before making his way back to the couch, he sat on the edge and idly began flicking through the TV channels again before he decided to settle upon the kids channel which was broadcasting a rather cheesy cartoon.

"About right for you." The gold Lamborghini grumbled under his breath.

Sidesweipe glared at his twin "Shut up sunshine."

"Don't make me assign you both to waste disposal detail." The Prime threatened without looking up from the data-pad he was reading. Sunstreaker shot up in his seat and glanced over at his leader with a horrified look upon his facial plates before turning to glower at his brother. The red Lamborghini met his twin's glare with one of his own, then turned away to watch the TV channel he had selected. The gold front-liner sat back giving his brother a final glare before reaching into his sub-space and removed his drawing pad. He slid the stylus out of its slot and turned the pad on, he glanced at his brother then smirked as he turned back to his pad.

The next couple of hours seemed to blend into one another and still there was no news regarding the second and third in commands, Optimus knew that many of those already assembled in the recreation room would wait up as long as they could if Jazz didn't deliver tonight. The Prime sighed deeply out of his intakes as he sat back in his chair and set the data-pad he had been reading down, he had to admit he was just as anxious as the rest of them and hoped there would be an announcement soon about the arrival of their newest member. The semi Peter-built pushed away the current report he had been reading as he was getting pretty bored of them so he turned his attention to the TV screen which was currently showing a movie and decided to watch it. After all no-one could predict when this sparkling would finally arrive in the world.

**A few hours prior . . . . **

Prowl swore that Primus had granted him an infinite amount of patience when he was newly sparked, as right now he needed it more that anything with his bond-mate acting the way he was. So far throughout the gestation cycle, Jazz had been himself except for the few times when he had snapped at the others, become moody or highly emotional. But the third trimester of his mate's 'pregnancy' was proving to be the most taxing, not only physically but also mentally on the saboteur and subsequently the tactician as well. Prowl knew it wouldn't have been this bad had his beloved mate been carrying the spark of their child, however with the protoform sharing the same frame as its spark carrier, it had turned the normally jovial, care free and fun loving Jazz into the unmaker himself. Ratchet had given what he could to the saboteur for the increase of aches, pains and now swollen joints, but most of the time it was up to the Dodge Charger to make his mate comfortable in the last league of his gestation cycle.

Which was exactly what he was doing now as he massaged his bonded's upper and lower back, every now and again he would get a moan or a murmur of appreciation from the silver mech. He stopped briefly when Jazz arched his back forwards before settling again, Prowl knew that sometimes not even his attentive administrations were enough to get rid of the crippling back aches his spark-mate suffered from on the occasion. The 2IC resumed his massage upon the saboteur's back plating until he heard the Solstice give a whine of frustration and pushed himself off their berth. The tactician gave his mate a sympathetic glance as Jazz paced around the room with a pained grimace upon his facial plates, one of his clawed hand clenched into a fist massaged just beneath the left side of his chest plates. The Dodge Charger knew that the sparkling was always more active when his bonded was sat down than when he was moving around, a fact he knew greatly frustrated his mate especially when they were trying to settle down for recharge at night. The next solution the black and white mech mused, in order to soothe away the back ache was a hot bath, however just as he was about to get up from the berth, he heard a pained grunt escape his mate's vocaliser before he felt an echo of pain in his spark.

"Jazz is everything alright?" Prowl asked as he frowned in concern at his mate.

"I'm fine." Jazz replied somewhat sharply, however he slowed a little in his pacing when he realised he had been a little sharp with his bonded "sorry Prowler I didn't mean ta …."

"It's alright I understand." The tactician told him cutting him off, he knew the kind of emotional state his bonded would get himself into if he wasn't forgiven for a verbal transgression against his mate. And that was the last thing the Charger wanted right now as he could deal with a moody Jazz but not an emotional Jazz "but I don't suppose you'll tell me what's going on?"

The saboteur tried to hide the grimace as best as he possibly could "Nothin's goin' on."

"Jazz I can hear you humming, you only hum for two reasons." The black and white mech pointed out "how long have you been in pain?"

The Solstice vented a sigh "For the last couple of hours."

Prowl looked startled at that "Why didn't you say anything?"

"Coz Ratchet stated that I was safe ta go inta labour on ma own, but as soon as I begin feelin' a tearin' sensation then I was ta go down ta th' med-bay." The silver mech replied as he sent soft magnetic pulses into his aching chest plates. He would never tell Prowl that he was sure that he had felt the infant moving into breach position several hours ago as he knew the tactician was already feeling the stress of upcoming fatherhood as it was.

"I don't care you should have told me sooner." The Charger said, his door wings flaring outwards "we're going to the med-bay now."

"But Prowl …." Jazz began to protest but it was cut off when pain blossomed in his chest plates again, he felt his legs tremble as he clutched at his chest, clawed fingers digging into the plating slightly. The black and white mech wasted no time in crossing the few metres between them before he gently gripped one of his mate's arms and led him out of their quarters.

"You can be such a pain in the skidplate sometimes." Prowl grumbled at him as he led his bonded through the interconnecting corridors.

"Well I have ta keep things interestin' around here." The saboteur responded as he tried to ignore how the muscle cables in his chest tightened, his intakes hitched when another pulsation reared its head.

"A few more metres Jazz." Prowl soothed as best as he could when he heard another mewl of pain escape his bonded. They covered the rest of the distance to the med-bay in slow measured steps so by the time they got there both Ratchet and Wheeljack were all but waiting for them at the door. The CMO took hold of the second lieutenant's other arm and led the bonded couple across to one of the private rooms, and eventually to the berth where he clambered up onto it. Wheeljack was immediately by his side attaching small round discs to Jazz's chest armour which in turn brought up both the Solstice's and sparkling's vitals upon the monitor in front of them. Ratchet critically scanned them at first before removing one of his portable scanners from sub-space and running it over Jazz's hunched form.

"Vitals for the both of you are looking good and the connections between you and the sparkling are beginning to break off." The medic stated calmly "a couple more and than you'll be in stage two of the birthing cycle." Jazz whined when the next spasm of pain shot through his chest, Prowl reached out to allow him to grasp his forearm in the smallest possible assurance he could give to his spark-mate.

"How long are you expecting this to take?" Prowl asked, both the Hummer and Lancia glanced at one another.

"It could be anywhere between a few hours to twenty four hours, I'll be surprised if Jazz has an easy ride." Ratchet replied "normally first births are the longest."

"And can be the most problematic." Wheeljack said he didn't see the point in hiding those facts from both Jazz and Prowl, better they know now before something did come up. Although this was his first delivery concerning a full protoform being born, he had heard that even spark deliveries could be problematic despite everything being all well and good before hand.

"Problematic? How?" Prowl inquired as he gently stroked the armour upon the hand that was currently grasping his forearm.

Ratchet glanced across to him from where he was preparing some equipment just in case an emergency birth was required "There's a chance that he might get twisted in his umbilical line but from the scan that I just did, the line is coiled in front of him." Prowl nodded and sighed inwardly as he turned back to his mate, he turned his strokes upon his mate's hand to drawing lazy circles upon the sensitive armour instead which not only soothed the Solstice but kept him calm too. Suddenly the Solstice gave a keening cry a few moments later and his grip got marginally tighter upon the tactician's forearm, the second in command couldn't imagine the level of pain the saboteur had to be experiencing at this moment in time. He vaguely wondered if being torn apart by the Decepticon tyrant had bordered on the same level as this or had it been worse? The only other times he had played witness to Jazz being in pain was when he had been injured in a battle or those few times after he had been poisoned, but nothing that would make the Solstice vocalise the discomfort he was in.

"So have the pair of you thought of a designation?" Wheeljack asked once he knew he would have the bonded pair's attention.

"Prowler here wants to call him Bluestreak." Jazz replied once he had collected himself enough to answer.

"You thought it was ample enough for him to be called that." Prowl argued back.

"Any particular reasons for why you want to call the sparkling Bluestreak?" Ratchet inquired, he didn't want to start calling the sparkling 'he' just yet, there was a chance that the spark signature was female. He had tried to determine the sex of the infant through earlier scans, but interference from Jazz's own spark prevented him from doing so.

"Have you ever heard of the human phase of someone talking a blue streak?" The tactician inquired.

"Can't say I have." The medic replied with a frown.

"It literally means that someone can talk blue in the face an' our lil sparklin' likes to 'talk'." Jazz said with a small smile. The Solstice had been distracted several times when the sparkling decided to make full use of the bond that had been forged between it and its spark carrier, and boy would he could 'talk' when Jazz connected with him. Of course the saboteur was not one to deny his growing offspring the attention it deserved. he would happily zone out during meetings or in a room to have a conversation about nothing with the infant Cybertronian. Prowl had been concerned at first with his mate's behaviour until he heard and felt his sparkling's thoughts and feelings pass through the bond, he had nearly overloaded from the sheer amount of emotional output he was receiving from the saboteur. From then on the tactician would offer his growing sparkling soothing words or even hum to him which surprised Jazz as he rarely heard his mate hum, but he had to keep his connection with the infant brief as the little one tended to get just a little too excited being mind to mind with his father and abuse his daddy's internals with his boisterous movements.

"Seems he's going to take after you in that department." Ratchet replied with a smile.

"Hey I don't talk that much." Jazz protested, sticking his bottom lip component out in a pout.

"Actually you do . . . ." Prowl began then suddenly though better of finishing off his sentence when Jazz shot him a light glare.

"Don't you even think about finishin' that sentence." The Solstice warned him before returning his attention to the sensations in his chest, it unnerved him slightly because he had lost mental contact with the sparkling. It had almost seemed natural to him to have the infant's awareness brush against his consciousness, but now there was nothing and he vaguely wondered how the sparkling felt being isolated from the one presence it had come to know over the better half of a year. Normally Jazz had been told that the gestation cycle would have taken the equivalent of three human Earth years on Cybertron if he had just been carrying the sparkling, but instead he had been carrying for the duration of nine months give or take a couple of weeks.

The saboteur's facial plates descended into a grimace as the next pang of pain began to spike in his chest again, he bowed his back so the tips of his finned horns touched the soft padding of the berth. In the haze of pain he heard Prowl move to sit upon the berth in front of him before reaching out with one hand to rub soothing circles upon his back and as usual the pain quickly faded as it had come.

"Easy Jazz." The tactician said softly as he watched silver claws tense then relax, he knew how deadly those digits were since he had nearly been on the other end of them once before, he had been lucky enough that his honed senses had detected the attack so he could grab the claws before they could make contact with his chest plating. Prowl knew Jazz hadn't been thinking straight at that time and didn't take matters any further, but he had certainly become a little more wary about them. Well Except of course when they were interfacing then he enjoyed the gentle scratching of them, although his paintwork would definitely say something different if it could. The Solstice always preferred aggression rather than the slow gentle tease that was normally associated with spark sharing or bonding, not that he complained, but he did prefer it when he could tease the micro fine sensors embedded in the Solstice's armour and drive Jazz to the same madness he experienced when the saboteur went for his door wings. Suddenly the tactician was drawn out of his thoughts a few minutes later when he heard Jazz chuckle beneath him, he rose a single optic ridge and asked his mate what was so funny.

"You were projectin' again." Jazz responded although it was slightly muffled by the position he was in.

"Projecting what? Or is it best I'd rather not know?" Ratchet inquired as he stepped toward the berth, scanner in hand and a single optic ridge raised in Prowl's direction before he glanced down at the hunched saboteur.

Jazz smirked "The second one Ratch."

"Uh-huh, well I suggest you keep whatever is running through your CPU to yourself, the last thing I need is your mate overloading when I need him fully conscious." Ratchet told the tactician who managed to look somewhat sheepish if not down right embarrassed, the Hummer glanced at the readings upon the portable scanner he was holding "all connections have broken off now but I suppose you can already feel that effect?"

"Yea it feels weird." The Solstice replied "I'm use ta feelin' 'im brush against ma own consciousness but now there's nothin', I can't imagine how the kid feels."

"The sparkling is fine; we would have detected a change in its vitals if it was unhappy." Ratchet said "so have you decided upon a name if it's female?"

"We did yes." Prowl replied as he glanced down at his mate who hadn't moved from his awkwardly comfortable position.

"Rhapsody." The Saboteur said, Wheeljack smiled at the connotation of the name, they had decided upon a feminine form that reflected the male designation they had chosen. Ratchet however cocked his head to the side in an imitation of a human rolling their eyes when he heard the name, trust Jazz to pick something that was related to music.

"Funny how you've picked two names similar to one another." Wheeljack pointed out from where he was stood watching the infant's vitals flow steadily across the monitor, there had constant initial concerns over whether to allow Jazz to reach full term and to go into labour rather than perform surgery to remove the sparkling. A larger Cybertronian would have been be able to cope with the stress being placed upon the frame as they gave birth and Ratchet was concerned that with Jazz being so small, his systems wouldn't be able to cope at all with the trauma sustained and could either force the saboteur into stasis lock or worse; kill both parent and offspring.

"It seemed to make sense." Prowl replied as he allowed his fingers to trail across his mate's upper back.

"You know there's a bet going on over the time, date and sex of the infant don't you?" Ratchet inquired as he glanced across to the pair, Prowl looked at him with a surprised look upon his facial plates whilst Jazz sat up slightly with a smirk upon his facial plates before he slid off the berth. The tactician was about to stop him but decided against it when he saw the look Ratchet was giving him, after all it was better that they didn't interfere when it came to the saboteur's spontaneous acts during labour.

"There is?" Prowl inquired as he watched his mate pace back and forth in a fit of restlessness, he knew how much his mate hated lying or sitting down when he was in pain unless of course he was physically capable of moving.

"Know who's winnin' so far?" Jazz asked as he continued to use his magnetics to soothe the sharp pains that were coming a lot more frequently now.

"Optimus is I believe although Major Lennox is not far behind." The CMO replied.

"Very rare that the boss bot gets involved in a bettin' pool." The Solstice grunted when a contraction finally rose its ugly head, but much of the pain was quelled by the mag. pulses.

The medic glanced across to the monitor when a slight change in readings appeared "It was Sam and Mikaela's idea to start with, apparently it happens quite often when human infants are involved and persuaded him to partake in the activities."

"Humans are such strange creatures most of the time." Prowl muttered. Jazz was about to agree with him, however he had to turn his attention to more pressing matters such as the dull ache in his chest that was beginning to build. Then suddenly and without warning the saboteur cried out and lurched forward to grab the closest thing as his legs nearly collapsed out from under him, which in that moment of time happened to be Prowl's right forearm as his armour creaked from the strain of being pushed forward from within. The Solstice dragged air into his intakes as the pain receded before relaxing the digits that had dug into the tactician's arm.

"Sorry Prowl." The silver mech apologised, the Dodge Charger could do nothing but nod his acceptance of the apology given as the sharp sting of his mates claws digging into armour slowly faded away.

Ratchet's on board sensors suddenly detected a change in the silver mech's inner structural integrity "I've detected a fracture in the chamber; I just need to double check that." The medic picked up his portable scanner from where he had placed it upon the berth and ran it in close proximity to Jazz's chest armour, the small scanner instantly bleeped and registered the small fracture as the chamber the sparkling was cocooned began to split open. The medic glanced at Prowl who helped his labouring spark-mate back up onto the berth before he turned his attention to the scanner in his right hand It displayed the temporary chamber the sparkling was currently housed in contracting and pushing him/her forward so the once fracture opened up into a tear. Jazz couldn't help scream as this occurred and he clutched onto the side of the berth for support.

"Slag in hell that hurt." The saboteur panted as the pain once again receded, he like the others was no stranger to pain and this pain was so much more different from that kind. He just hope that with his high tolerance for pain that he might be able to endure it. He was suddenly pulled out of his thoughts when he felt something warm and wet running down his front and when he glanced down he saw that the tear was slightly leaking a dull pink fluid "ah Ratch is that supposed ta happen?" He held up a single claw stained with the pink liquid as the medic glanced across to him from where he was preparing an injection pen.

"Afraid so." Ratchet replied as he flicked the pen to get rid of any bubbles inside of it "I can give you somethin to take the edge off as the contractions are only going to get stronger from here on our."

"No, no drugs, I want this as natural as possible." The saboteur told him. Beside him his spark-mate was about to open his mouth plates and protest, but he decided against it since he knew better than to argue with the Solstice.

"How are you doing?" Prowl inquired knowing that maybe it wasn't the best question to be asking but none the less inquired. He knew Jazz had taken every precaution to ensure that the pain wouldn't filter through the bond, but he wished that he didn't as they were in this together and at least he could take some of the agony his mate was experiencing.

"Don't make me answer that." Jazz responded, Prowl frowned as he sub-consciously reached out a hand to his partner to grasp when a disheartening whimpering sound escaped Jazz before it became a sharp hiss of pain as the next pulsation caused the tear to open further. Ratchet waited patiently for the primary armour plates to finally open and the pain to ebb away before stepping across to the Solstice, Prowl hesitantly stepped away from his mate to allow Ratchet access. The CMO ran another scan to check the size of the tear before gently wiping away as much of the pink fluid as possible, Jazz raised a single optic ridge at this.

"Need to keep the fluid from congealing around the edges." Ratchet told him suddenly Jazz screamed when an unimaginable pain erupted in his chest, Prowl could do nothing but watch on until the pain his bond-mate was experiencing seared through their bond making him stagger under the sudden onslaught. Wheeljack moved to his side quickly in order to steady him whilst Ratchet fussed over Jazz's hunched form. Prowl pulled free from Wheeljack's support and moved to stand the other side of the saboteur whose facial plates were still set in a grimace even after the pain had receded, he glanced at Ratchet who was still gently wiping away the fluid so he could get a good look at how far the tear had opened, the cloth he was holding was steadily being stained pink whilst his other hand held onto the saboteur's clenched right fist.

"The chamber's now fully open." He told the tactician as he gently wiped away as much of the fluid as possible "The delivery should commence momentarily." The Solstice's entire frame ached and he felt as if someone was trying to rip out his internal components and spark especially with the contractions and pulsations closing in on one another. Prowl then heard Jazz growl at the back of his throat but it quickly dissolved into a keening sound as the next pulsation seized his bond-mate's frame, he could only watch on as the saboteur finally offered himself to the primal force that was creation itself.

Jazz could feel the contractions compress the flexible chamber his sparkling was housed in pushing him/her forward. So on the next strong contraction, the infant's back began to crown through the torn open chamber and exposed internal components; Jazz shuttered his optics and bowed his back to relieve the overly tense wires and muscle cables, he growled in the back of his throat as sensors were strained beyond their usual limits. His harsh panting and the beeping of the monitors as they tracked two sets of vitals were the only things that could be heard in the quiet of the med-bay.

Ratchet glanced down to take a look at the emerging sparkling, he could see that Prowl's own curiosity had gotten the better of him and was also watching the process of the sparkling emerging from the Solstice's chest plates. The medic turned his attention back to the infant making sure that the little one's sensory panels were not trapped as he knew that they could easily complicate matters, But lucky enough as the sparkling's back completely emerged from the opening, the little wings slipped away from where they had been folded against his shoulders and flopped to the centre of his back and hung there dripping amniotic fluid onto the berth below him.

Suddenly Jazz tossed his head back and screamed as the infant's shoulders completely emerged followed by his head which Ratchet had to quickly reach out and support, metal plating creaked ominously as the saboteur grasped both of the medic's and his bond-mate's forearms tightly as the sparkling continued to emerge on every contraction that seized the Solstice's frame. The contractions were coming almost unbearable as they insisted in pushing the little one from his holding tank and into the outside world. The silver mech could feel his fuel pump racing, his core temperature rising as his coolant pumps struggled to keep up and every intake of air was becoming much more laborious as the birthing cycle continued to progress. Finally on the last strong contraction Jazz arched his back and gave one agonised cry as the infant was finally freed from him before collapsing against his mate and nearly falling off line from exhaustion. However a tight grip upon his arm brought him out of the haze that had settled in his processor, he glanced up to look at his bond-mate before following his gaze to Ratchet who was holding the tiny form of their offspring in his hands.

The medic looked the infant over at first noting how skeletal like it looked and the fact most of its internal components were exposed but could easily see through the pink fluid coating it, that it's tiny frame was tinted a light grey colour. It's once exposed spark was now covered by a translucent covering protecting it from the elements. Wheeljack handed him a cloth and he gently ran it across the sparkling's lip components clearing away the excess fluid before he turned it over being mindful of the energon tube that still dangled from his belly, the other end was still attached to Jazz. Ratchet then gently placed his index and middle fingers upon the infants back plating and began to rub small circles in a repetitive pattern, Prowl and Jazz continued to watch what he was doing with concerned looks upon their facial plates wandering why the tiny sparkling hadn't uttered a sound or moved as of yet.

"Come on little one." The medic murmured as he gently tapped along the centre of the infants back, his efforts were rewarded instantly with a spluttering cough and a high pitched wailing sound as the sparkling cleared his intakes "that's what I wanted to hear." Tiny limbs began to flail as Ratchet turned the infant over onto its back being mindful of the tiny delicate wings, it continued to wail until the medic placed it into the eager arms of one of its creators. He bundled it tightly in a thermal blanket whilst still being mindful of the umbilical line that would remain attached to Jazz for just a little while longer.

"Don't think I'd like to be cold an' naked either." Jazz said as he gazed down at the tiny bundle lying there whimpering slightly in his arms, its half shuttered, bright baby blue optics were focused upon the two bots glazing down at him contently. Both parents sent out thoughts of love and comfort to the little one, the sparkling visibly brightened at the connection between them "don't suppose you'd happen to know whether its male or female would ya Ratch?"

"Well according to the scanner, the spark signature is male so congratulations for a healthy little mech." The medic replied, both Prowl and Jazz glanced down at the tiny little being now lying comfortably in the crook of the saboteur's right elbow giving a chorus of chirps and clicks.

"I think Bluestreak suits him quite admirably." Prowl said as he smiled at his creation.

"You got that right, I know sparkling's are known to make noise when they're born but . . . not that much noise." Wheeljack's replied as he watched Jazz attempt to muffle his sparkling's noises by popping the tip of one of his fingers in his mouth. But the little one was undeterred and continued to click and coo, the saboteur chuckled before gently removing the finger that the infant had been attempting to suck on whilst announcing his presence to the world.

"So who do you think has won the overall bet then?" The Solstice inquired as he moved his left hand to run the back of one clawed digit down the infant's nose plate, the sparkling shuttered his optics at the soothing motion before opening them again, continuing with his non-stop clicking and chirping. The Dodge Charger had certainly nailed it on the head with the choice of naming their first born despite his constant fears that it might not suit him at all.

"I believe it's a draw between Major Lennox and Optimus." Wheeljack replied as he and Ratchet collected a couple more cloths from where they were stored to clear up the berth Jazz was currently sat upon "our illustrious leader more than happily told the twins that if he won that he expected good behaviour out of them for a whole month."

The Solstice smirked at that "I'd like to see that happen."

"Whether the pair of them like it or not, they will have to be on their best behaviour least they want to be sent to either the Antarctic or the Arctic for several months as punishment." The tactician said as he shifted one hand and gently ran his index finger underneath the sparkling's chin; he was rewarded with a happy whirl and baby blue optics focusing upon him.

The saboteur glanced up at his mate over his shoulder "Wanna hold him?" Prowl looked startled for a few seconds and Jazz could tell he was contemplating saying 'no' but the tactician surprised him by nodding his head and he moved round to his right side, the Solstice shifted the sparkling and held him out toward his mate. The Dodge Charger slid one hand under the infant's cranial unit and the other under his aft, he settled him awkwardly in the crook of his left elbow since that arm seemed to be the closest to Jazz. He smiled down at the infant and sent gentle spark pulses to the sparkling when he tried reaching him through the bond they now shared between parent and child. The infant warbled happily and settled himself more comfortably in his sire's hold.

"Right you on your back, I want to check to make sure there's no damage to your internals." The CMO instructed as he picked up his scanner.

"Ah Ratch what about this?" Jazz asked pointing to the tube.

"'Fraid you're gonna be attached a little while longer, it'll disengage in a few hours time hence why I've not asked Prowl to shift his skid plate." The Hummer responded as he rested a hand upon the saboteur's left shoulder and guided him down to lie upon his back, the Solstice winced slightly when pain spiked along the still active nerve receptors.

With Jazz now flat on his back, Ratchet picked up the portable scanner and quickly checked the saboteur over since there wasn't much they could do until the umbilical line disengaged on Jazz's end. The sparkling required the last of the nutrients stored in the energon store before he made the transition from depending sorely upon the lieutenant's resources to being fed from a bottle that had been especially created for the infant. Between the CMO and the engineer, they moved another berth next to the one Jazz was lying upon once the area had been cleaned up. The Solstice was all but nearing the point of entering recharge as he glanced up at his mate who was still holding their sparkling cooing softly to him, a smile twitched his lip components when he saw a smile claim the tactician's lip components when he received contented chirps in return. The infant's optic shutters were steadily drooping downwards as Prowl ran the back of his index finger down the middle of the sparkling's forehead, then down the bridge of his nose lulling him into recharge as he did so.

"Blue gone to sleep yet?" Jazz asked wearily.

"Almost." Prowl replied as he glanced down at Bluestreak as he squeaked slightly before a noise escaped him that sounded vaguely like a yawn and shuttered his optics all the way, his tiny fingers from the arm that he had managed to free, curled into the blanket as he turned his head to the side "now he has." He waited a couple of minutes before finally shifting the sparkling and placing him down on the berth next to Jazz who shifted slightly onto his right side, he pillowed his right arm beneath his head as he moved his left arm and with one clawed finger gently pulled the blanket away from Bluestreak's facial plates so he could get a better look at him "you should rest." The tactician reached across and trailed his fingers across his mate's left cheek, he traced the hieroglyphic symbols that ran up the length of the left silver horn.

"What about you?" The saboteur inquired as his tired gaze met Prowl's.

"He's going to let me look at those gauges in his arm then also get some rest." Ratchet responded as he made his way across with portable scanner in hand "over onto that berth and I'll be with you in a moment." The tactician nodded since he couldn't very well argue against the CMO not in his domain anyway but before he stepped away to make his way across to the berth Ratchet had pointed at, he leant down to touch foreheads with his spark-mate. Prowl took one last glance at the small sparkling lying languidly upon his back next to the Solstice's right forearm before stepping back and out of the way so Ratchet could get close to both parent and infant "just need to run a few scans of Bluestreak to make sure everything is fine."

"That's cool with me Ratch." Jazz said as he moved slightly to make himself more comfortable, the CMO ran the portable scanner he had in his hand over the small frame of the sparkling and smiled as the results all came back positive.

"Well I can honestly say he's perfectly healthy despite his small size." The Hummer told him "now I want you in recharge, doctor's orders."

Jazz smirked "Yes Sir." The Solstice dimmed his optics and shuttered them and it didn't take long before his systems powered down into recharge, Ratchet waited a couple of moments to make sure before making his way across to Prowl whose gaze was still fixed upon his mate and his tiny offspring.

"Right let me see those claw marks." The CMO said the tactician rose his right arm to show the slightly oozing claw marks to the medic, but his gaze did not falter even when the Hummer began probing the shallow wounds "he did very well considering my initial concerns about letting him go to full term."

"Yes he did and Bluestreak is perfect." Prowl replied. He still felt completely overwhelmed at the notion that the sparkling he had helped create had finally been born, the tactician watched as the infant twitched in his recharge and the Solstice shuffled closer to him. The Dodge Charger could feel both of their presences in his spark especially the little one, his presence was now more prominent than it was before. He sent a gentle pulse of spark energy to Bluestreak and the sparkling's twitching stilled.

"You might think that now but wait until that line disengages from Jazz then you'll know you've both got him." Ratchet said with a small smile.

"I've already anticipated there'll be nights that we may not get the required recharge we want." The Charger replied as he glanced at the chartreuse mech "but I suppose the benefit of tag teaming will be of some use."

"Yes it most certainly will." The CMO said as he put the scanner down upon the berth Prowl was sat on "well they're only shallow and should heal on their own, consider yourself lucky they didn't get hooked in there or it would have been a different story altogether. Now I suggest that you too head into recharge least you want to be of some use to Jazz in the morning." The Dodge Charger nodded as he slipped off the berth and made his way back toward the Solstice, he clambered up on one that had been moved next to his mate. He shifted himself to lay down partially upon his front and on his side so his door wings fell flat against his back, the position helped relieve some of the aches that had settled in the joints from being held high in distress for the past several hours. Prowl settled his optics upon the silver Solstice and the small bundle laying close to him, he smiled as he moved his right arm and smoothed the back of a finger gently over Bluestreak's right cheek. The sparkling barely twitched a muscle cable at the caress. The tactician then turned his attention to his mate to find Jazz deep in recharge and his smile widened before finally he shuttered his own optics and powered down into recharge.

"Sides sit your skid plate down before I make you." Sunstreaker growled as his twin continued to pace back and forth. The gold Lamborghini was currently trying to watch a horror movie marathon upon the large flat screen television since both of them were under house arrest after the red Lamborghini decided to pull a prank upon Red Alert. He had simply grown bored of waiting around in the rec. room for any news on Jazz, and decided to amuse himself as always at someone else's expense. Of course Optimus never punished one twin without the other despite the fact that the gold Lamborghini had no part to play in the impromptu prank pulled by his brother. So here they were now still stuck in the rec. room with the other, waiting.

"I can't help it." The red Lamborghini responded.

"We're all just as anxious as you are to know if Jazz is okay." Mikaela said from where she was curled up next to Sam upon the large Autobot sized couch.

"Now sit your aft down." The gold Lamborghini warned his brother, Sideswipe blew air out from his intakes in a sigh then sat down upon the arm of the couch, gaze wandering toward the door "you're being worse than Blurr stop it." Sunstreaker elbowed his twin in the side when he continued to fidget.

"Just because you're a sparkless glitch Sunny doesn't mean the rest of us are." The red Lamborghini said, Sunstreaker frowned at his brother's words and was about to open his mouth to say something in return to his comment when the doors opened and Sideswipe all but leapt off the couch to face the newcomer. Bumblebee peered over the top of the couch to see Wheeljack make his way into the room, his optical sensors immediately settling upon the group sat together "so?" Sideswipe demanded.

The Lancia Stratos chuckled at the red twin's behaviour "A little mech born an hour ago." The engineer replied "and both Jazz and the sparkling are doing well."

"Mech? It's a boy?" Mikaela inquired, she tried to prevent the sound of disappointment in her voice. She had been hoping that the infant was going to be female as the current Cybertronian occupants of the base were all male baring one, but none the less she was happy that he was here whole and healthy after the effort it took for Jazz to carry and nurture him. She glanced across to where Arcee was perched upon the arm of the couch to see a flicker of body language that could have been disappointment but as quickly as it had appeared it disappeared.

"It would appear so." Bumblebee replied as he glanced down at the human female before following her gaze to Arcee, the Buell Fire bolt Motorcycle was quietly brooding and the yellow scout knew something was troubling the sharp shooter. He wondered whether the fuchsia coloured femme had been hoping for Prowl and Jazz's sparkling to be a femme since there was so few of them in the Autobot faction. But there was always a possible chance that Elita One and the others would venture to Earth eventually given time.

"Never mind, maybe next time." Sam said as he glanced at his girlfriend.

"When can we see them?" Sideswipe asked eagerly. He knew he had been a complete glitch to Prowl and subsequently to Jazz during the first stage of the gestation cycle, the red Lamborghini had firmly believed that the tactician had intentionally stolen away Jazz's normal good natured behaviour by 'sparking' him. Mikaela had described his behaviour as an only child suddenly realising that he would no longer have the sole attention from his parents when his sibling arrived in the world to which his twin teased him about. Of course it had inevitably led to several fists fights between the pair of them.

"Not tonight Ratchet is threatening to reformat anyone who steps into the med-bay who doesn't have a life threatening injury." Wheeljack responded "and it'll probably be that way for the next couple of days too since the sparkling is vulnerable to almost everything at the moment."

"Ah Primus fraggit." The red Lamborghini cursed then suddenly a look of horror fell upon his facial plates as he turned to regard his twin, Sunstreaker frowned at his brother's expression wondering what the hell had come over his brother all of a sudden "ah Sunny we've got a bit of a problem?"

"What the slag are you talkin' about?" The gold Lamborghini demanded.

Sideswipe shifted uncertainly upon his feet "Remember that deal we made with the boss bot?"

Sunstreaker's frown descended into a dark glare "You mean the one you stupidly made."

"Well it's going to go ahead." The red Lamborghini replied "since it was today and the hour plus the sex of the infant Optimus betted on." He backed up a few steps when the gold twin got up from the couch he had been sat in and curled his hands into fists "whoa sunshine remember what Wheeljack just said."

"Yea well hopefully Ratchet will be in the right mood to reformat you into something I can kick the crap out of." The gold Lamborghini threatened as he took a few steps forward toward his brother who held his hands up hoping to ward off his twin's threatening advances.

"Guys I suggest you don't beat the crap out of each other." Bumblebee began as he got up from the couch and headed toward the twins, ready to break up the pair of them if need be. He had seen Jazz do it often enough to feel confident that he might be able to do the same should it come to it "Prowl's not going to want to deal with you at the moment either."

"'Bee's right, you wake him up now and he'll follow through with his threat." Wheeljack said that had him smiling behind his face mask when he saw the twin's expressions at the comment he just made.

"What threat?" Both Lamborghini's demanded at the same time as they faced the engineer.

"The one where he talked about sending you to the dirtiest place he can think of, and along that same note apparently England is experiencing some nice wet weather at the moment according to Grahams." The Lancia replied.

"He can't do that." Sunstreaker argued hoping the engineer was calling their bluff.

"Actually Sunny he can and we know the fragger will if we piss him off enough." Sideswipe told his brother, there had been too many times before when they had royally ticked the tactician off that he had sent them to the few places that the twins despised hoping to teach them a lesson that he knew in the long run they wouldn't learn from.

"Well at least we know both parent and offspring are in good health." Mirage said from where he was sat hoping to distract the twins from causing any trouble that could land them in the repair bay and Ratchet's 'good' graces "have they named him yet?"

"Yep he has his designation alright." Wheeljack replied "it's Bluestreak."

"Please don't tell me that the name came about because he's blue?" Sideswipe asked.

The Lancia cocked his head to the side in an imitation of an eye roll "No its not because he's blue." A couple of the others glanced at him curiously wandering what the reason was behind the choice of name the tactician and saboteur had chosen for their sparkling "its more to do with his personality, apparently he's a talker."

"Great just what we need another talkative mech, its bad enough that Primus punished us with the existence of Blurr and Perceptor let alone another one." Sunstreaker grumbled as he plonked himself unceremoniously in the couch he had recently vacated and folded his arms across his chest.

"Well Sunny we should have seen this coming after all Bluestreak is Jazz's offspring and we know he's capable of talking the audios off any mech or femme when he wants too." Arcee said as she stretched her arms above her head in order to work out the kinks in her spinal strut. Sunstreaker glared at the femme for using the nickname his brother deemed to use most of the time despite him trying to constantly correct him that his name was Sunstreaker and wasn't that hard to pronounce in the humans tongue or their own.

"Looks like we'll get to see Prowl crash more often." Sideswipe replied "hey bro we can get some brilliant blackmail material to wheedle our way out of any future punishments."

Sunstreaker cocked his head to the side in an imitation of an eye roll "And you know exactly what happens when you get something that's supposed to be incriminating, a prank war that ends up with not only Prowl participating but a certain bond-mate of his who has an uncanny ability to make things disappear."

"That and you guys are supposed to be on your best behaviour." Hound finally spoke up from where he was sat upon the couch with Mirage curled up beside him. Sideswipe glared at the tracker then all but jumped out of his plating when he heard his twin get up from the couch and clenching his hands into fists that no doubt promised some sort of pain.

"Which reminds me dear brother of mine." The gold Lamborghini said as he began to stalk toward his sibling.

Sideswipe threw up his hands in order to try and placate his twin "Whoa Sunny think about this for a moment, remember what 'Jack just said."

"It doesn't make any difference, you'll do something stupid as always and condemn us both to whichever punishment Prime or Prowl hand out." Sunstreaker replied.

The red Lamborghini frowned at that "Hey that's not always true, you're notorious for losing your temper and dismantling any unfortunate mech near you."

Bumblebee pushed himself out of the couch he had been sat in and placed himself in-between the larger forms of the Lamborghinis, he really didn't want to see this escalate into a fight and have what was supposed to be a joyous day for Prowl, ruined simply because the twins were being complete slagtards "Guys don't make me call Optimus down here."

"'No need Bumblebee." Rumbled a voice from the doorway to the recreation room, all of the occupants glanced across to see the large red and blue frame of the Autobot leader stood in the doorway with his arms folded across his chest. His stern azure gaze was fixed upon the twin menaces "you two my office now." Sunstreaker glared at his twin before stomping out of the recreation room, Sideswipe twiddled his thumbs wandering how he could worm his way out of this impending lecture. That and the beating his brother would without a doubt give him once they were alone "you too Sideswipe." The red Lamborghini cringed but none the less reluctantly trudged out of the rec. room and toward Optimus' office, Prime turned on his heel and followed after the twins leaving the others in the recreation room.

"Suppose I gotta figure out what to give Prowl an' Jazz for a congratulations present." Sam said as he started mulling over ideas in his head.

Mikaela glanced at him and a smile twitched her lips into a smile "Don't worry I've got that already covered." She glanced down at her watch, noticing what time it was "come on we should be getting back, I don't wanna experience coming face to face with your mom again wielding a baseball bat."

Sam chuckled when he recalled that particular memory, both he and Mikaela had returned late to his house and nearly had their heads cave in by a swinging baseball bat. Since then he had learnt to be back before his parents went to bed, or at least call them to tell them he was going to be back late to prevent another incident like that from occurring. He glanced up at the other Autobots in the room as he made his way to the entrance of the rec. room and saw them excitedly talking between themselves, he couldn't help but smile at their enthusiasm about the newest arrival to the base.

Within the deep recesses of space, an ancient but evil presence detected the new changes within the physical world despite the source being several hundred thousand miles away from his position upon a moon. Glowing red optics appeared within the gloom of the crashed battleship, and a small cruel smile appeared upon lip components. The Allspark was weak at the moment but given time it would return to its full strength, however he knew of a device that would quicken the process. But he required the services of his loyal disciple to put the plan into action and to get him back to full functioning order. The reserves from the Nemesis and those that Starscream had brought from Cybertron had not been enough to sustain him and the numerous hatchlings, so he had hacked into what systems were left functioning and diverted as much as energon away from the undeveloped Cybertronians in order to see to his own needs. After all there had to be a few sacrifices if he were to be able to carry out his plan of revenge against those who had trespassed against him.

**Authors Notes:** Yay sparkling is finally here and yes I know what you all must be thinking. Bluestreak? It wasn't my fault I swear. My younger sister furiously demanded that it had to be our favourite gunner so I ran with it. She has that much influence over me and I didn't really fancy writing in an OC coz I'll end up hating them. And I swear to Primus if he were real, that my sister is a reincarnation of Bluestreak, she never shuts up and will go on and on lol probably why she insisted that the sparkling be him.


	9. Adjusting to Parenthood

Okay I am completely overwhelmed by the response to this story to be honest I never would have thought for a moment that it would get this much attention and for that thanks to everyone who has read, reviewed, added it to their story alerts and favs.

_'Blah' – thoughts_

_::Blah:: - Radio Communication_

_:/blah\: - Inter. comm._

_::/Blah\\:: Bond communication_

**Warnings**: fluff, a little slash and mentions of dissection

**Disclaimer**: Transformers and its associates don't belong to me, I just like to borrow them.

The Autobot commander could honestly say that he had a very trying morning, let alone a few days and was thankful that he had a long tether of patience or he would have shot a few of his soldiers by now. It had started with the twins particularly Sideswipe pleading with him about going to see Jazz and his sparkling shortly after Wheeljack had announced the birth of the infant. And continued to repeatedly ask after that. He immediately told them no since the CMO had downright refused to allow anyone into the med-bay, with the exception of him and Prowl of course, unless it was a severe medical emergency. Optimus had then happily reminded the twins of the deal they had made with him that instantly had the red Lamborghini trying to worm his way out of it whilst his twin glowered at him and no doubt threatening to tear him a new one over their bond for making it in the first place.

Then after sending the twins for their comm.'s shift, Bumblebee had made the attempt to ask on several occasions whether he could take both his charges down to the repair bay to take a glimpse of what a sparkling looked like. But Prime had to decline his request even though he knew the Camaro wanted to make sure his 'older brother', in a manner of speaking, was doing alright. Once he sent the scout away from his office, Ironhide had thankfully called only the once to ask if there was any news, he told the weapons specialist everything that he knew before he closed the line and slumped back in his chair. He checked his internal chronometer and got up from the chair in his office and made his way down to the repair bay now that most of the reports were out of the way. Optimus stepped through the med-bay doors several minutes later (although he was prompted to give his security access code, a small measure put in place to keep out any unwanted visitors) and instantly his audios detected the low subtle tones that signified someone was talking before he saw Ratchet peer out of his office on the left hand side of the med-bay.

"I knew you'd eventually make your way down here." The CMO said as he stepped out of his office and made his way across to the Autobot commander.

"I thought I'd come and get an update on their progress since the others are all asking about them." Prime replied although he did notice how one of the CMO's optic ridges rose questionably at his reply and he smiled "and I wanted to see for myself our newest addition." A small smile appeared upon the medic's facial plates.

"Come on." The Hummer said as he turned in the direction of the recovery room Prowl and Jazz were in, they stepped inside and Prime noticed that his tactician had his back to him shielding Jazz and the small bundle lying in the crook of the silver Solstice's left elbow, from the Peter-built's gaze. Optimus quietly approached the pair and Jazz glanced up to met his commander's optics with a tired gaze.

"Hey boss bot." He greeted with a small smile, Prowl turned in his seated position and greeted Optimus with a nod.

"How are you doing Jazz?" Prime inquired when his gaze fell upon the partially closed chest plates and the blue covering of Flexiseal that protected the strained and damaged muscle cables and components from infection. The long thin, translucent tubing that had attached Jazz to the infant a couple of days ago was now gone, although a small section of it was still attached to the sparkling until it finally disengaged.

"Tired but okay, we got an early call again this mornin'." The Solstice replied as he glanced down at the tiny bundle lying in the crook of his left elbow still in recharge, Optimus followed his gaze and for the first time saw the long anticipated sparkling bundled in a thermal blanket that was partially open. From his position he could see part of the infant's head from where it was pressed against his lieutenant's abdominal components and an arm that had snuck out of the blanket.

"Yes we did, I had to shake you awake before going to get his energon from Ratchet." Prowl said as he glanced down at the data pad that was lying upon the berth, he then touched a couple of controls before spinning it round so it faced the saboteur. Lucky enough for the pair of them the medic had anticipated that the umbilical line was going to detach itself from Jazz when it did, he had prepared bottles of energon for the sparkling in advance. He had stored them in a cabinet in his office so they couldn't be mixed with anything that could be potentially dangerous to the small infant.

"Yea well ya have ta give me credit; I did give birth to our kid a couple of days ago, it's not a process you get over quickly." Jazz replied as he regarded his spark-mate before he shifted his attention to the Autobot commander "bet everyone is dyin' to get down 'ere an' take a look aren't they?"

"They are yes but I've told them that until Ratchet gives the green light they are not to step a foot in here unless it is strictly necessary." Prime told them, his gaze was still firmly fixed upon the sparkling as he shifted in recharge, his tiny fingers curled into the blanket. It was a most beautiful thing; creation. Especially now that the Allspark was gone and their home world was dead due to the lack of the cube, and all that remained of the great artefact that had given most of them life was a tiny sparkling born to his second and third in command. He did not regret the decision he made about allowing the gestation cycle to continue not one bit, the infant lying in Jazz's arms had raised everyone's hopes during this never ending war that had unfortunately followed them to the little blue planet. However he was concerned by the faint Allspark signature he could detect coming from the infant and curiosity struck over what the ancient artefact had done to the small Cybertronian.

"Well they'll get their chance ta see lil Blue once Ratch lets us out." The Solstice said as he typed in a couple of things upon the pad before spinning it round to face Prowl "besides I 'ear that the twins gotta behave themselves for the next month anyway?"

Optimus this time met the saboteur's gaze "Yes they do."

"What did they want in return?" Prowl inquired as he studied what was on the pad then frowned "you know you have left yourself wide open to attack?" He studied his mate critically wondering what could have compelled him to make the ill fated move.

"I know." The silver Solstice replied with a smirk.

"You know you have no chance at winning against Prowl if that's chess you're playing." Optimus said with a smile "and the twins wanted to be excused from the staff meetings every Friday for the next month if they won the bet."

"I remember someone else trying that one." Prowl replied.

"Yea well ya know me an' meetin's they don't go hand in hand." Jazz said before his attention was drawn to the sparkling shifting to make himself more comfortable before baby blue optics un-shuttered and peered up at Jazz "hey Blue." The sparkling chirped happily at the notion he was in the arms of one of his parents and not in the dreaded incubator he was having to spend time in.

"Right on cue." The medic mumbled to himself before stepping away and across to his office whilst the others watched as a frown marred the sparkling's facial plates.

"Don't pull that face." Jazz said "that is such a Prowl expression." The tactician frowned in response to his mate's comment that had Optimus smiling; the infant had definitely adopted that expression from the Dodge Charger. He vaguely wondered what mannerisms and expressionisms Bluestreak had adopted from the saboteur but knew it was far too early to tell, but there was no question that the frown was almost identical to the one Prowl would give if something confused him or sounded completely illogical to him.

The frown the sparkling gave soon became small whimpers leaving Jazz no choice but to give him a single clawed finger to placate him until the medic came back. Ratchet made his return in due time shaking the small bottle in his right hand before handing it over to the Solstice who removed his finger from Bluestreak's mouth plates prompting a noise of distress as he did so to take the bottle offered to him. There were no words needed to guide the saboteur how to fed his offspring as the silver mech popped the durable plastic end of the bottle straight into the infant's waiting mouth, the Autobot commander shook his head in amusement, he knew it wouldn't take long for Jazz to adapt to parent hood since the mech had a very active role when Bumblebee was being raised and was one of the most adaptable mechs he knew of other than the young scout.

Jazz only allowed the sparkling to have half the bottle before gently prying it out of Bluestreak's mouth and setting it down beside him. Then with skilled administration he removed the sparkling from the blanket and turned him over, he placed him lying face down, over his thigh and began tapping the small Cybertronian's back plates to dislodge any air in his tank with two of his clawed fingers, he was rewarded a few seconds later with a belch followed by a hungry keening noise from the sparkling. Optimus saw for the first time the pair of stubby wing panels that sprouted from the infants back that were having no problem rising upwards.

"You find that too easy." Prowl remarked as he watched the saboteur gently turn the infant over onto his back and bundled the blanket around him again before reaching for the bottle and popping it back into Bluestreak's mouth so he could finish the rest of the energon off.

"The others would call him a natural." Optimus replied.

"So it would seem." The tactician said as he watched his offspring guzzle down the last remnants of what was in the bottle before Jazz took it out of his mouth for the second time and placed it down beside him. The saboteur placed Bluestreak up on his shoulder and gently pressed two of his fingers upon the infant's back plates, he began rubbing soothing circles before the silver mech glanced across to his leader whose gaze was firmly fixed upon the noisily clicking, cooing and hiccuping sparkling. He could see something was puzzling his leader but getting Optimus to express his fears and doubts was like asking Ironhide to drop his bravado act.

"Wanna hold him boss bot?" Jazz inquired, he watched as the Prime's optics drifted up to met his. Optimus glanced at Prowl and the tactician nodded offering his leader his full trust, then the semi Peter-built transferred his gaze back to the Solstice before moving closer to the berth both parents were sat on. Jazz gently manoeuvred the sparkling off his shoulder and held him in front of him, Bluestreak continued with his clicking and chirping and his tiny fingers curled and uncurled whilst his bright baby blue optics were fixed upon his spark carrier "you're goin' ta Uncle Optimus okay?" The saboteur knew he wouldn't get a response but he felt it was necessary to reassure his sparkling that he was beginning given to someone he trusted with his life. Prime glanced at Ratchet with a confused expression upon his facial plates and the medic smiled.

"Your not the first to be labelled as an uncle." The Hummer told him. In fact he had been the first to be called the title when the bonded couple handed their offspring to him the other day, the medic had felt humbled by the title of being considered family as new progenitors could be very picky about those they trusted with their sparkling's life. Optimus turned back to Jazz just as his 3IC held out the tiny infant to his leader and the semi Peter-built gently took him from his spark carrier, the tiny mech fitted perfectly into the Optimus' open palms. The sparkling glanced up at the large Autobot, his baby blue optics focusing upon his facial plates whilst Optimus scanned the infant with darker blue optics. There was something about this tiny being lying lax in his hands that he couldn't quite put his finger on, he was so sure he could definitely now sense Allspark energy coursing through the sparkling's small frame, but he didn't want to jump to conclusions and worry his parents. Bluestreak finally broke the silence with soft coos and sporadic clicks which quickly became more frequent especially when Optimus began offering the infant clicks of his own. A small smile twitched the edges of the semi Peter-built's lip components when Bluestreak squealed in excitement before chirping as loud as he could.

Optimus gently pressed a finger to the sparkling's abdomen and rubbed small circles when the hiccups that had been plaguing the little Cybertronian before hand made their return "Vocal isn't he?"

Ratchet chuckled "That's nothing compared to what I've heard over the past few days, I've never known a sparkling to make so much noise."

"He's just taking after a certain mech we all know." Optimus replied as his optics drifted over to the saboteur who scowled at his leader from where he was leaning against his bond-mate before making a sound that vaguely sounded like a 'humph'. The Autobot leader transferred his gaze back to the sparkling whose optic shutters were beginning to droop and his clicks, coos and warbles were starting to subside, a clear indicator that the infant was more than ready for a nap "I believe I should hand you back over to one of your creators now." Optimus spoke to the sparkling who made a soft warble in response, he glanced at Jazz who made a move to reclaim his offspring and gently handed the infant back to his spark carrier. However Bluestreak appeared restless upon the Solstice and it wasn't until the saboteur's posture began to sag that he realised that Jazz looked weary.

"Prowl can ya take him?" The Solstice asked with a somewhat tired tone in his voice as he regarded his mate, Ratchet was moving instantly to stand beside the saboteur as the silver mech handed the small infant over to the tactician with diligent care, Prowl placed Bluestreak up on his left shoulder before grabbing the data pad with his free hand and sliding off the berth. The Dodge Charger placed the data pad back into a sub-space pocket then used his free hand to rub soothing circles upon the sparkling's back.

"You're exhausted; I suggest you get some recharge." Ratchet informed the Solstice as he swept the portable scanner he had in hand over the silver frame, Jazz had no choice but to agree with the medic as he slid down onto his back. Prowl stepped across to his mate exchanging a few words to him that were too low to be detected by the CMO and Autobot leader before stepping away as Jazz slipped into recharge. Bluestreak was making small clicks and chirps as the tactician made his way across to the other two mechs "right I want to take a scan of Blue then you can go for a wander with him."

"Well I shall leave you to it as apparently the twins have left their comm.'s duty early and are causing some commotion in the recreation room as usual." Optimus said after his comm. link warbled informing him of what the two miscreants were up to. Commotion in the recreation room was usually instigated by the twins when one or both wanted to dominate the remote control for the television screen in there, no-one dared argue with them and quickly surrendered the device as quickly as possible. Although there were a couple who refused to allow the Lamborghinis to intimidate them which quickly dissolved into arguing or occasionally a fist fight.

"Make sure I don't see those two glitch heads in here." The medic told him sternly and the semi Peter built truck nodded in understanding before stepping out of the med-bay, the pair of them watched him go before Ratchet instructed Prowl to lie Bluestreak down upon one of the berths. There was little protest from the sparkling since he was almost in recharge anyway and it made the full systems scan run much more quickly and smoothly, Ratchet smiled as the results scrolled upon the screen in front of him "everything is running perfectly."

"That's good to hear." Prowl said as he scooped up the infant and settled him into the crook of his left elbow, the sparkling startled slightly but soon drifted off again.

"You can take him outside the repair bay if you wish." Ratchet replied as he placed his scanner back into sub-space and glanced at Prowl, he saw the look of adoration upon the tactician's facial plates as he regarded his offspring drifting off into recharge "just keep him away from extreme changes in temperature and he should be okay but only for a little while, I want to see the pair of you back in here in an hour." The tactician nodded in understanding before finally stepping out of the med-bay and into the corridor, his door wings twitched slightly when they detected a subtle change in temperature. He glanced down at the sparkling and found that it didn't seem to bother him in the slightest for which he was grateful for, he continued down the corridor ignoring the curious looks he got from the passing humans both military and civilian.

The tactician decided that anywhere the twins were would be too much to soon for the infant, so he avoided going anywhere near the recreation room where he knew for certain that Optimus was probably grilling them right now for their behaviour. He decided to move in the direction of the control room, but decided that it was probably not the best plan of action since he probably would be kicked out of there anyway. He vented a cycle of air through his intakes and stepped in the direction of the hangar bay instead where his audio receptors picked up the distinct sound of rain drumming on the roof and the wind howling outside. Noting that the temperature was okay and the noise not too great, he stepped into the hangar bay and was met by nods of acknowledgement and odd looks from the human staff unloading equipment that they were capable of lifting. Prowl lightly ran a finger along the small stubby growth upon the infant's forehead which Ratchet had told them would grow eventually into a chevron similar to the one the Dodge was sporting. His attention drifted from his son to the entrance of the hangar bay when he heard the guttural roar of a high performance engine. He glanced toward the double set of doors rolling open to see a yellow vehicle with black racing strips defy the speeding laws for the base grounds in order to get out of the rain.

The Camaro braked hard to a stop just inside the entrance and both driver and passenger side doors opened, a slightly wet looking Sam and Mikaela clambered out of Bumblebee's alt. mode before stepping round to the boot and unloaded a couple of bags, the two young adults stepped away, giving the scout enough room to transform. Once fully transformed, the Camaro shook himself free of excess water and mud that had both humans moving away from the scout quickly in order to escape being splattered.

"Thanks 'Bee." Sam said glaring at his guardian as he flicked the mud that had been splattered on him, off his arm.

"You should have known he was going to do that." Mikaela responded in turn, she had escaped relatively unscathed from the flying water and mud.

Suddenly there was a ruckus and Prowl glanced in the direction of the entrance to the subterranean levels, he could hear both twins yelping and protesting and stepped back into the shadows. He saw Bumblebee and the two young humans move out the way as the colossal frame of their leader appeared in the hangar bay dragging both twins by their audio receptors to the entrance of the bay. Optimus released both Lamborghini's before giving them a harsh shove to the entrance, the pair of them sported dents and painted scuff marks upon their armour plating that spoke of scored hits and rough handling.

"Oh hell no." Sunstreaker protested and stepped backwards "no way, I'd rather do time in the brig then go out there." The gold Lamborghini briefly wondered what the sentence would be if he murdered his twin and sold him off as spare parts, he couldn't understand what had possessed his brother to pull such a stupid stunt as no-one in their right mind made a bet against Optimus and hoped to win.

"Not an option." Prime responded "not this time."

"But Optimus . . . ." Sideswipe attempted to argue but their leader was not having any of it, the red Lamborghini sighed knowing they were both resigned to their fates and transformed into his vehicle mode but not before his brother gave him a dark glare.

"You too Sunstreaker." Optimus ordered, the gold Lamborghini was about to open his mouth plates to protest until Prime shot him a stern look and he transformed into his vehicle mode, his twin sped out of the hangar bay whilst Sunstreaker took his time until his rear bumper was nearly met with a foot that he floored it out of the base and into the raging weather outside.

"You know they will only return in a few hours to resume their rambunctious behaviour." Prowl spoke up as he stepped toward his commander.

Optimus turned to meet his gaze with a smile "Yes I know but not if I lock them out first to teach them a lesson." A smile twitched the Dodge Charger's lip components at his leader's show of mischievousness before the Semi truck turned in the direction of the subterranean levels and disappeared. Bumblebee spotted the tactician immediately and both the youngling's optic ridges rose when he saw the bundle lying in the crook of the tactician's left elbow, he quietly began making his way across to the white and black mech who was watching him from where he was stood. The yellow Camaro came to stand beside the Charger and peered into the blanket before giving off a whirl from his vocaliser, Prowl smiled at the immature noise that escaped the scout before turning his attention to the two humans making their way across. The pair of them stood beside Bumblebee who was far more interested in the recharging sparkling than his own charges "Bumblebee." The Camaro glanced at the Dodge Charger then followed his gaze to the two humans, the scout smiled sheepishly at the tactician then knelt down to scoop up both Sam and Mikaela who could then get a glimpse of the small sparkling.

Prowl tucked the blanket a little more under the infant's cranial unit when a particularly cold breeze swept through the closing hangar bay doors which inevitably covered him a little more from view and prompted Bumblebee to stand on the tactician's other side so the two of them could get a better glimpse, Mikaela simply melted at the first sight of him and sat back on her haunches with a soft 'aw' noise whilst Sam continued to watch the small infant as he tried to comprehend how beings as tall as Optimus could have been that small once in their life.

"Wow I didn't realize you guys could be this tiny." The young human male said.

"Normally sparkling's aren't this small but his size does not seem to concern Ratchet." Prowl responded as he glanced down at his offspring when he felt him shift slightly but it was only to move the blanket that had been bundled around his head so it didn't swaddle him so much.

"How is Jazz?" Bumblebee asked as he moved his gaze from the sparkling to look at the tactician.

"Exhausted which is understandable, Bluestreak's birth drained him somewhat but he is recovering slowly but surely." Prowl replied "and he is already back to his normal self which undoubtedly will be a relief to many." The white and black mech heard the scout cycle air of relief through his vents at that, they had all felt Jazz's mood swings whilst he had been 'sparked' and had been looking forward to the day when his normal temperament returned.

"Jazz wasn't that bad, you guys just didn't know how to communicate with him properly when he was in a foul mood." Mikaela said.

"Well you gotta admit no-one could." Sam began as he faced his girlfriend who shot him a pointed look "the bot threatened to stomp on us at one point and I don't know about you but self preservation is high on my list especially when it comes to royally ticked off giant alien robots who want to kill me."

"As part of our directive of to not harm humans, Jazz would never have intentionally stepped on you." The Dodge Charger said as he readjusted the sparkling in the crook of his arm which disturbed the blanket around the infant's left shoulder, it fell away revealing the thin grey arm that was resting across his scrawny chest which remained covered. Prowl moved the corner of blanket that had fallen away and covered the sparkling's arm, shoulder and chest again.

"Hey 'Bee pass me the bags on the floor." Mikaela asked and the scout obliged and lifted the two large by human standards shopping bags off the floor and handed them to the human female. She rummaged around in the larger of the two before pulling out something blue, Prowl watched curiously as she pulled out the object and unfolded it slightly "not sure if its big enough but its something we wanted to give to him anyway." Mikaela held out the light blue and cream padded blanket toward the tactician who glanced at it then moved to take it from her, the tactile sensors in his fingers registered the general fabric and thickness of the blanket would actually be much warmer and more comfortable than the one that the infant was currently wrapped up in.

"Thank you Sam and Mikaela." The Charger responded "Bumblebee I require your help." The scout glanced at him curiously "it will require the use of your arms, I would use one of the crates but I'd prefer he was near a source of heat." Both of the Camaro's optic ridges rose when he realized exactly what Prowl was asking of him, the tactician was entrusting him to hold his offspring whilst he made the swap over of blankets "if you do not feel comfortable it can wait."

"No I'll be fine." Bumblebee said as he transferred both his human charges to a stack of crates and they settled down to watch, the scout felt positively nervous as the tactician instructed him to cradle one of his arms exactly like the way he had before he laid out the blanket upon the Camaro's forearm with one hand. Bumblebee's door wings rose in both excitement over the prospect of holding his first sparkling and anxiety that he might accidentally drop him, he watched as Prowl opened the cloths surrounding the tiny infant and moved him to his shoulder so he could place the blankets upon the crates in an unceremonious heap. Bumblebee caught sight of the two small wing panels lying lax against the sparkling's back and realised that the infant looked exactly like a miniature version of a full grown protoform, just minus the armour that they all sported before scanning a vehicle mode. Bluestreak squeaked in his recharge at the sudden loss of warmth and tucked himself into as much of a ball as he possibly could on his father's shoulder, one of his tiny fists curled up under his chin.

The tactician manoeuvred the infant off his shoulder and placed him upon the slightly trembling cradle that was Bumblebee's right forearm "How you are feeling right now Bumblebee is understandably so, I was also anxious when Jazz passed him to me after he had been born." Prowl explained as he wrapped the blanket firmly around the sparkling's frame and stepped back allowing the Camaro his chance of holding Bluestreak. The scout seemed to get more braver the longer he was able to hold him that was until a set of baby blue optics un-shuttered and peered up at the Camaro.

"Uh Prowl." Bumblebee said as he watched Bluestreak waiting for the first signs that he was going to start crying but the sparkling just laid there staring up at the scout.

"Shouldn't worry too much 'Bee, its perfect baby behaviour, he's in the arms of someone new and is trying to work out what and who they are." Mikaela said as she watched Bluestreak sneak an arm out from the blanket he was in and curl his miniature fingers in the material before he started chirping at the scout. Bumblebee glanced at Prowl unsure of what to do and the tactician stepped up beside him and made a couple of clicking noises at the grey sparkling. Instantly baby blue optics locked upon the white and black mech before Bluestreak made another loud chirp followed by clicking.

"Its his own form of communicating with us, if I recall correctly you were quite vocal as a sparkling." Prowl told Bumblebee which caused the two small antennae to rise upon the scout's head and prompted a strange noise to escape the sparkling.

"'Bee do it again, I think he finds it funny." Sam said and his guardian raised his antennae again and Bluestreak made another sound that vaguely resembled a laugh.

"They're not even that funny looking." Bumblebee replied, a little confused as to why a barely three day old sparkling found that every time he raised his antennae was funny, the small infant wriggled his arm out of the blanket a little more and curled the fist up by his chin whilst he kept his baby blue optics focused upon the yellow scout. Then after a few minutes of quietly observing the new mech holding him, the sparkling's optic shutters finally drooped downwards then closed completely as Bluestreak headed back into recharge.

"I thought babies only went to sleep on boring people?" Sam inquired, Mikaela nudged him in the ribs with an elbow when their guardian glanced at the human boy with a mock pout upon his face "not that I'm saying you're boring 'Bee."

Bumblebee turned from the two humans to the small sparkling lying in the crook of his right elbow then glanced at the tactician "I think I ought to give him back to you." Prowl smiled at that and reached out to take the sparkling from the scout and settled him against his chassis, his azure gaze never leaving the recharging form of Bluestreak. Both humans smiled at the spark warming moment between parent and child, they could both see the same loyal devotion that the white and black Charger displayed toward his bond-mate clearly written upon Prowl's facial plates as he regarded his offspring.

"I had better get back to the repair bay before Ratchet decides to hunt us down." The tactician said, Bumblebee smiled at that as he scooped up his charges and rested his forearm against his lower chest so the two humans could leech off the heat emanating from his systems. The white and black Dodge Charger began moving back in the direction of the lower levels and toward the med-bay, the sparkling barely twitched a muscle cable as he was carried back to his place of birth.

Prowl stopped just outside of the repair bay and observed the small cargo in the crook of his left arm, he was glad that he had agreed with Jazz to allow the gestation cycle to continue as the tiny beautiful and perfect being he was holding was well worth the wait and the emotional battering he took from his bond-mate. The saboteur had already stressed how sorry he was for being such a pain in the aft for all those months that he carried Bluestreak. The tactician swept fingers gently down the sparkling's forehead and nose ridge and smiled when Bluestreak made a small sound in his recharge, Prowl glanced up from his offspring before finally stepping through the med-bay doors and toward the berth where his bond-mate was currently lying upon.

"Back so soon?" Ratchet inquired from his office. The tactician smiled at that as he set the tiny infant Cybertronian down in the incubator that had been set up on the berth next to the one Jazz was lying on. Prowl arranged Bluestreak upon the large white pillows that covered the bottom of the make shift crib and incubator.

"I had nowhere I could really take Bluestreak unless I introduced him to quarters." Prowl responded as he turned to look at the medic as he made his approach "besides I knew you wouldn't want Blue out of your sight for very long with him being a couple of Earth days old."

"You would have been fine to remain outside the med-bay a little longer." Ratchet told him as he glanced down at the recharging infant lying upon his back although it wasn't very long before small whimpers began leaving his vocaliser, Prowl looked a little lost at what to do whilst the medic gently shifted Bluestreak onto his side and propped a couple of the smaller pillows behind his back to keep him there, the whimpers stopped shortly after that "you winged mechs are all the same, you don't like being laid upon your back because of those blooming things." The medic nodded his head at the white door wings upon the tactician's back that were waving back and forth. Prowl made a small noise in agreement before Ratchet stepped back and away from the tactician and his offspring, then headed over to his office. The Dodge Charger smoothed a hand over the sparkling's helm before sitting back watching the tiny grey infant recharge, he moved his attention from his creation and glanced across to the berth his bond-mate was lying upon to be met with two dim blue optics glancing at him. He smiled in return to the one he was getting before Jazz slipped off his berth and staggered across to the one Prowl was sat upon, the tactician reached out to grasp his mate's upper arms when the Solstice stumbled.

"You should still be in recharge." Prowl chastised his lover quietly.

"'M fine." Jazz replied as he gripped the side of the berth and glanced into the crib, he reached inside and smoothed the back of a finger over the infant's exposed cheek. Bluestreak shuffled in his sleep but settled quickly "I'm still baffled by th' fact that we created him."

"I know." The tactician said as he wrapped an arm about his mate's waist and pulled him close "not once did it cross my mind about starting our own family." And to think he had come close in not being able to experience this pride and joy when he heard that Jazz had been deactivated by Megatron in a last selfless act to buy the humans time to retreat, then being brought miraculously back to life by a small remnant of the Allspark.

_::/ That was past history love, we need to start looking forward to the future.\\::___Jazz sent through the bond that had blazed beautifully back to life now there was no carrier programming to mute it. The Solstice was right, what happened in the past could not be changed but the future was theirs to change as they saw fit and Prowl was determined that Bluestreak would have a bright future regardless of the Decepticon threat that loomed overhead of them.

**The Following day …. **

If there was one thing the weapons specialist disliked about the planet they were on, and that was the unpredictable weather patterns. The weather had started out nice at the beginning of the week but now it had been constantly raining for the last few days making the roads treacherous not too mention water and mud seeped into places he didn't even know existed until now. He stepped into the hangar that served as the top cover of the base, he could hear the twins making their way toward the entrance to head out for patrol duty and suspected by the loud protesting voice of Sunstreaker that he was none too happy with the arrangement again. He almost felt sorry for Sideswipe having to put up with his brothers whining and knew if it were him he would have blasted him by now.

However the weapons specialist wasn't the red Lamborghini and continued on to his original destination. He had been down at the firing range that morning with Lennox and his team only to discover a glitch in his weapons system ,and rather than fiddle with it himself and cause possible human casualties as a result. He decided to risk life and limb and have Ratchet look at it instead despite that the medic had warned that no-one was to step into the med-bay unless it was a life threatening injury. Ironhide finally reached his destination and as he stepped through the med-bay doors, unhappy whimpers met his audio receptors; he glanced across the room to find a rather tired looking Prowl with the source of the noise perched over his shoulder having his back plates rubbed and patted alternatively.

"Sounds like someone's got air in his tank." The Top Kick truck said as he made his way across to the Dodge.

"So it seems." Was the tactician's reply.

"It's a common occurrence; it's just where they've guzzled down the energon too quickly." Ironhide supplied as he looked the tiny Cybertronian over "want me to give it a try?" Prowl nodded and gently handed Bluestreak over to the weapons specialist who put him up on his shoulder and began to pat the sparkling's back plates just a little more rougher than the tactician had been doing, Prowl frowned at the seeming brutality "trust me this kid can take it, you have to really pat them quite hard to dislodge it, I lost count how many sleepless nights I had because of Bumblebee doing the exact same thing."

"I look forward to that." The Dodge Charger said cheerlessly, he simply wasn't looking forward having restless nights especially when he had duty the following day.

Ironhide switched to rubbing the sparkling's back plates "Your lucky, at least Jazz can share in the responsibility of getting up to see him." Suddenly both Ironhide's and Prowl's efforts to dislodge the air trapped in Bluestreak's tank was rewarded with a belch, then a distressed sound as the sparkling brought up unprocessed energon onto Ironhide's shoulder "just what I needed kid." The weapons specialist removed the infant away from his shoulder to look at him, Bluestreak innocently squeaked at him even as a bit of pink energon dribbled down his chin "got the same cheeky grin as Jazz too." Prowl handed his comrade a clean towel to wipe the pink fluid off his shoulder as he took the infant and placed him in the crook of his left elbow, he gently wiped away the energon from the sparkling's mouth and chin "so where's Ratchet?"

"Giving Jazz his last check up before he releases him." Prowl replied as he headed toward a berth and laid Bluestreak down upon it, the little grey sparkling made a noise of protest but did not continue as the tactician rubbed small circles upon his belly. The sparkling's internal components were no longer exposed to the outside world as they were now covered with a translucent dermal plating that would eventually gain colour and harden.

"Take it Ratch is happy ta let you take the kid home?" The black bot asked as he made his way over whilst still trying to clean the remnants of unprocessed energon off his shoulder and now down his back.

"I am or I wouldn't be releasing them now would I?" Came an inquiry from behind them. The pair turned to face the chief medic who was making his way toward them from the recovery room he had stepped out of with Jazz following close behind him. He removed a scanner from sub-space as he came across ready to conduct a few scans upon the infant Cybertronian, Bluestreak squeaked at the sight of Ratchet. Then he chirped loudly when he saw Jazz and began kicking his miniature legs "I'm gonna need him to hold still whilst I run scans of him."

"If this kid is anything like Jazz you have no chance of holding him still Ratch." Ironhide said as he watched a smile appear upon the sparkling's facial plates as Prowl went back to tickling the little grey mech's abdomen in order to distract him whilst Ratchet ran the scans needed to determine how well the sparkling was doing.

"I can stay still if I wanna." Jazz told the weapons specialist with a frown.

"No offence kid but ya can be just as bad as Blurr on some occasions." Ironhide responded with a smirk.

The medic chuckled at the comparison made as he swept the scanner down Bluestreak's left side and a detailed scan of the infant's exoskeleton appeared upon the monitor next to the berth, the sparkling happily clicked at the CMO which brought a smile to Ratchet's facial plates. However Bluestreak soon turned his attention back to Prowl and Jazz and focused his baby blue optics upon them, he chirped loudly at the tactician and saboteur then when he realised that his creators weren't going to pick him up, a scowl appeared upon his young facial features followed by angry twitters and flailing of limbs which upset the sensor readings Ratchet was taking.

"Now what is all this fuss for?" Ratchet asked as the sparkling continued to twitter angrily, both Jazz and Prowl shifted uneasily since they just wanted to pick up Bluestreak and soothe him but the looks from the older mechs stopped them in their tracks "one last scan I promise Blue then you can be picked up." The infant Cybertronian twittered unhappily but they calmed into soft chirps "the thing with sparklings is don't give in to their temper tantrums or they'll know they can walk all over you."

"I'll remember to note that for the future." Prowl said as he watched Ratchet sweep the scanner down Blue's right side and the other half of the exoskeleton appeared upon the monitor, the medic set the scanner down at the end of the berth so it was out of reach of the infant, then looked at the monitor and the information it was displaying.

"Well he's perfectly healthy, I can't see anything wrong with him but I'll have to run a deeper analysis of the readings I took." Ratchet replied "an' now you can pick him up." Prowl nodded and moved first and happily scooped Bluestreak up and rested him against his chest plate, the infant happily warbled and nuzzled against warm chest armour before chirping at Jazz as his other creator moved into his line of sight. The saboteur rested a clawed hand upon the back of his helm whilst his other draped the blue blanket about the sparkling's shoulder and tucking it around his small frame. Bluestreak clicked in contentment since he didn't feel so exposed to the world around him now that the blanket was covering him and snuggled closer to warm armoured plating, both his arms were curled up by his chest.

"Are we free ta go Ratch?" Jazz inquired as he glanced at the medic.

"You are yes but I want to see both you and Bluestreak in here tomorrow morning." Ratchet told them as he watched Prowl gently hand Bluestreak over to Jazz who settled him in the crook of his right arm, the medic disguised as a search and rescue Hummer H2 knew that the moment the pair would step out of the repair bay, the tactician's least favourite pair would probably make their appearance. Ratchet speculated that the white and black Dodge Charger probably wanted his hands available so he could shoot the twin Lamborghinis least they pose a problem; Sideswipe in particular "I suggest you get Bluestreak settled into quarters before you allow those twin menaces anywhere near him."

"I shouldn't worry about them two, Prime kicked them out onto patrol again." Ironhide told the pair.

"That's good ta hear, think they'll be a little too much for Blue straight away." Jazz said as he started for the doors to the med-bay before finally exiting the room with Prowl close behind him. Bluestreak was more than curious about his surroundings, but the blue blanket shielding him from the outside world prevented him from seeing anything except his spark carrier who he more than happily warbled at when the Solstice glanced down at him. The sparkling shifted slightly so he could rest his head against the silver mech's chassis and listened to the faint spark pulse that he had been familiar with when lying inside of his protective chamber for the last few months before finally greeting the outside world, and allowed it to lull him into recharge. The bonded pair continued their journey to quarters thankfully not meeting anyone on their way there, although Prowl knew eventually he would have to introduce Bluestreak to the twins at some point. They arrived at quarters and the tactician keyed in the code to their room and the doors whooshed open revealing the dark room beyond, Jazz stepped in first with his precious cargo and the lights came on at their usual soft setting whilst Prowl locked the doors so they would not be disturbed.

The Solstice moved across the room and stepped into the spare room that was now their sparkling's and settled Bluestreak down upon the altered berth that was his crib, he swaddled the blue blanket around his small frame then reached across to activate the gadget given to them by Wheeljack. The engineer had assured them that it would not explode, overheat or catch fire and to prove his point he had handed it over to Ratchet for inspection, although the pair had suspected that the medic had something to do with that. The small round device with a flat bottom and a large hole on the top displayed various colours and projected them onto the ceiling, the humans had joked that they could have saved the engineer the trouble and brought a mobile which did the exact same thing. But the white Lancia explained that none of the human devices were capable of withstanding physical damage that a sparkling might inflict on it, and they simply agreed with him.

The colours lazily changed from one to the next as Jazz sat down upon the other side of the berth beside the make shift crib and watched his offspring recharge, the Solstice glanced over his shoulder when he heard footsteps approach and greeted Prowl with a smile as his bond-mate came to stand beside him.

"I never said thank you." The tactician said quietly as he rested a hand on the saboteur's right shoulder.

The special ops officer glanced up at him with a frown "For what?"

"For our small spark of hope." Prowl responded as he settled his gaze upon the shifting form of the sparkling, the pair watched to see if he would wake but the infant simply wiggled an arm out of the blanket and settled his clenched fist next to his helm. Small whimpers began to escape him a couple of minutes later and with the fluid grace that he normally moved with, Jazz reached for Bluestreak and arranged him and the blanket so the small sparkling was lying upon his side so he was no longer applying pressure to his developing sensory panels. The Solstice placed several of the different small, coloured pillows behind Bluestreak to keep him propped on his side before turning to face Prowl who was wearing a troubled look upon his facial features.

"Prowl?" He inquired quietly.

The tactician met his gaze "It's nothing."

"It's somethin' love." Jazz said

"I feel somewhat responsible for Bluestreak's plight." Prowl began "sensory panels are not the easiest of the appendages to grow up with, I can testify to that."

"You can't blame yaself for ya genetic imprint bein' th' most favourable for our kid at th' beginnin'." Jazz told him "he'll be fine love." The tactician continued to frown not sure whether to believe his bond-mate or not, but knew that Jazz had the advantage over him being Bluestreak's spark carrier "come on." The Solstice took one of Prowl's hands and led him out of their sparkling's room and into their main living area, he pulled him over to the couch then gently pushed the Dodge Charger backwards into sitting down so he could curl up against him. Keen audios continually listened out for any noises of distress from their creation, Ratchet had advised them not to rush to him the moment he made a noise as the sparkling could very well go back into recharge, but if he were to continue to cry then they could see to him. They had tried that routine for the past week whilst they had been in the med-bay and both were still finding it hard not to rush to Bluestreak the moment he made a sound but they were managing.

The tactician felt the saboteur try and snuggle against him more, he smiled as he rested is chin upon the silver helm and wrapped his arms about the Solstice's waist. He knew eventually he would have to return to duty and was in some respects was not looking forward to that moment, but he knew that just because he had become a parent didn't mean he could shirk his responsibilities as second in command. As much as he wanted too. He was certain that Jazz would have a harder time returning to full active duty since the last couple of months had seen him on light duty and would be until Bluestreak was several weeks old. Prowl nuzzled his mate's helm earning him a contented sigh before sitting back fully taking the dozing saboteur with him, they would eventually have to pick a guardian for their sparkling very soon and the Dodge Charger was unsure of whom to choose as he trusted everyone explicitly; even the twins. The tactician had a feeling that Jazz would either want his ops mechs whether one or all three or the twins, but that would be something they would discuss at a later date.

Prowl glanced across to the open doorway to their sparkling's room when he heard a small noise, but soon turned his attention back to his bond-mate who had fallen in a deep recharge. Ratchet had explained to them that it was nothing to worry about as the Solstice's systems were still adjusting to the fact that they were no longer having to nurture a much smaller being as well. In order for Jazz to compensate for this loss of energy, he either had to intake more than his usual ration of energon or spend longer in recharge. The Dodge Charger sighed through his intakes in contentment before shuttering his optics, he could feel his mate's exhaustion through the bond and it was having some effect on him so he was also having to compensate as well which usually resulted in recharge and that was exactly where he headed.

**A few hours later ….**

Prowl was brought out of his recharge cycle when he heard noises from his infant's room and turned keen audios and azure gaze in the direction they were coming from. He listened for a moment only to realise that the quite vocal clicks and coos indicated that Bluestreak was wide awake. With some difficulty he managed to get out from under Jazz who subconsciously moved into the warm spot the tactician had just vacated. The black and white mech smiled before quietly making his way across to the open doorway of their sparkling's room, he glanced around the door frame making sure not to alert his creation to his presence. What he saw twitched his lip components up into another smile, Bluestreak had somehow rolled onto his back and scrunched up the blanket Mikaela had made for him over his belly so he could grab his feet. The sparkling's sole attention was upon the different colours and shapes being projected onto the ceiling by his mobile.

The Dodge Charger shifted and rested his frame against the doorway and folded his arms across his chest, he watched silently as his sparkling continued to click and coo at the lights dancing in a different array of patterns and sequences upon the ceiling. But Bluestreak's attention didn't remain upon the mobile for long and he started looking around, his baby blue optics traced every outline that he could make out from where he was lying upon his back before they fell upon a familiar silhouette stood in the doorway. The little grey infant squealed in excitement at seeing his sire before a barrage of clicks, coos and whirls left his vocaliser, Prowl's smile broadened as he pushed himself off the door frame and made his way across to the berth that the infant's crib was situated on. He peered over the top and down at his sparkling who let go of his feet, although he kept them raised in the air whilst his little hands curled and uncurled into fists.

"You should be in recharge little one." The tactician rumbled, it had only been a couple of hours since Jazz had put him down after his feed and although Bluestreak had been ready for recharge then, it appeared to be a completely different story now. The little grey sparkling had no intention of going to sleep especially now that he had the attention of one of his creators. Finally he grew tired of clicking and cooing at Prowl and began making grabbing motions with his hands. The Dodge Charger obliged him and picked Bluestreak up and settled him into the crook of his left elbow, blanket included, the little infant instantly quietened and gazed up at the black and white mech. Prowl began walking around the room as he started humming one of the many lullaby's Jazz would sing to their creation. The sparkling lying comfortably in the crook of his elbow, continued to watch him with a couple of clicks or beeps escaping his vocaliser every now and again. The tactician smiled down at his creation meeting dim baby blue optics, he smoothed the back of his index finger down Bluestreak's forehead and the bridge of his noise in a soothing pattern lulling the restless sparkling finally into recharge.

The Dodge Charger slowed to a stop and ceased his humming as he observed his creation in his sleep, Bluestreak looked so much like Jazz when the Solstice was recharging, peaceful and if he dare say it; cute too. He turned toward the doorway when he heard a small noise and saw a rather amused Jazz leaning against the door frame with his arms folded across his chest.

_::/ Keep gettin' 'im ta recharge like that an' it'll be your chore for now on.\\::_ The Solstice sent through their bond as he pushed himself off the door frame and made his way across to his mate and offspring.

_::/ Either that or he really does fall asleep on boring people._\\:: Prowl replied although he sounded somewhat troubled.

The saboteur sensed the sudden anxiety through their bond _::/ Who told ya that?\\::_

_::/ Sam mentioned it a few days ago.\\:: _The tactician told him as he gently placed Bluestreak back in his crib whilst taking the extra care to make sure the little one's sensory panels were spread out beneath him comfortably.

_::/ Well ya far from borin', I'd describe ya as calmin'.\\::_The Solstice responded as he smoothed the back of a clawed finger across one of the sparkling's cheeks before turning to his mate, he could see a small frown beginning to draw the tactician's optic ridges down and Jazz knew that without the guidance of Ratchet, Prowl was starting to feel anxious about being a parent. The saboteur would admit that he too felt nervous as he didn't know everything about raising sparkling's, after all his creation had a very much different temperament to Bumblebee had, that and Bluestreak was theirs so they couldn't just hand him over if it became too much _::/ everythin's gonna be alright love, this is goin' to be all new ta us until we find our own two feet.\\::_

_::/ I know that.\\:_: Prowl responded as he glanced down at his slumbering creation, the doubts and fears he had before were beginning to haunt him more so now that Bluestreak was here with them 'in the flesh' so to speak instead of being protected by powerful muscle cables, armoured plating and the low level forcefield that the saboteur was capable of generating. Jazz frowned at the Dodge Charger as he gently gripped one of his mate's elbow joints, the worry and concern for their sparkling that was flowing freely through their bond was months old and the Solstice realised then how much of the tactician's thoughts and emotions had been blocked from him by the carrier programming.

_::/ Why didn't you say anythin'?\\::_ The saboteur asked _::/ the whole idea of us bein' bonded is that ya talk ta me when somethin' is buggin' ya.\\::_

Prowl met his gaze _::/You already had so much to deal with being 'sparked', I couldn't burden you with my own misgivings.\\::_

_::/ So ya kept it to yaself despite the chances that it could send ya into stasis lock?\\:: _Jazz inquired as he raised a single optic ridge as he followed his mate out of the sparkling's room.

_::/ Not entirely.__\\::_ The Dodge Charger began as he headed toward their newly installed dispenser unit and grabbed a couple of rations for himself and Jazz, the saboteur had perched himself sideways on the edge of the couch _::/ I spoke with Optimus about it at his insistence.__\\::_

"That explains why he was keepin' a close optic on the pair of us." The Solstice said outside of the bond, he nodded his head in thanks when Prowl set his ration down in front of him. The saboteur now understood why their leader appeared more jumpy as of late let alone paranoid about upgrading the security to the base, especially once the sparkling became mobile, Jazz had his own concerns regarding his creation but he knew the 'cons would have to be thick bolted enough to step in-between a spark carrier and their offspring "that reminds we need ta pick a guardian or guardians."

Prowl took a sip from his mug as he paced back and forth "I have been thinking about that also."

"And?" Jazz inquired as he watched his bond-mate pace back and forth in a restless fit, he knew there was a very likely chance that Bluestreak would sense Prowl's anxiety through the bond he shared with them and wake up in a grouchy mood.

"I cannot settle upon a single mech or femme." The Dodge Charger responded as he tapped white fingers against the side of the mug.

"Well we don't have to decide straight away." The Solstice said "now I suggest ya sit ya aft down before ya disturb Blue." Prowl scowled at his mate but the none the less complied but it didn't stop the door wings upon his back and the ones flanking his hips from twitching instead, Jazz chuckled at his behaviour "don't let it bother ya too much, I'm sure someone will come ta mind? Now ya comin' ta recharge or not?"

"Not yet there's a few things I need to do." The tactician replied refusing to meet his mate's gaze as he knew Jazz would be wearing a disapproving frown upon his facial plates. He heard the saboteur get up and was expecting to be ignored however he was surprised when the silver mech appeared before him and wrapped him in an awkward hug.

"Don't stay up too late." The saboteur murmured to him before releasing him and placing a kiss upon the top of his helm. Prowl watched him head toward their sleeping quarters before pushing himself out out of the couch, he quickly glanced into the sparkling's room so he could check that the infant was still recharging and the 'baby' monitor was on and functioning properly. With that little chore done, the tactician made his way over to the desk where the data terminal was and turned it on so he could access his in-box. He found several files that didn't require his immediate attention but none the less downloaded them onto a data-pad for later reading before he took a quick glance at the one Red Alert had sent to him with several reminders attached to it, Prowl shook his head slightly at that, the security director seemed to have forgotten that his superior had a newborn infant whose well-being was a top priority. The tactician downloaded it onto a data-pad with the intention to read and sign it now so he could get the paranoid mech off his back, he turned off the terminal once it was downloaded and made his way back to the couch as he opened the file to read it.

Prowl groaned inwardly when the first report was a clear rant about the twins mainly Sideswipe and special ops aka Mirage compromising the security of the base by hacking into systems they didn't belong in. He saved the file to read later and opened the one Red Alert had sent reminders about; it was on the one thing that had been plaguing his mind the entire week since Bluestreak's birth; upgrades to the base's security. As usual Red Alert went overboard leaving the tactician to make amends before the recommendations were sent on to Optimus, he highlighted a couple of paragraphs regarding the humans conduct and their own breaching of security protocols that he would have to take up with the security director and the humans liaison Tom Banachek as no doubt Red Alert was in one of those 'we can't trust the humans' moods again.

The Dodge Charger allowed a yawn to escape him and he doubled his efforts to try and finish the report in his hands but it seemed that his body was against him as he began to slouch in the couch and although he moved to accommodate his 'wings', his new found position was even more comfortable and without realising; all of his systems powered down and he slid blissfully into recharge regardless of the report that needed to be completed still clenched in his left hand.

**Same Night, Nevada Desert . . . .**

Night at Area 51 was always the same unless a weapons test was occurring then the base would be teeming with military personnel and nuclear physicists. But tonight beneath the Air Force base it was quiet with the usual skeleton night crew, Agent Salazar of the now disbanded Sector seven and now part of a group of individuals that had formed EDF (Earth Defence Force) walked down the dimly lit corridor with Agent Reginald Simmons beside him. Tucked under Simmons left arm was Intel. their spy had managed to gather upon NBE-28 or the 'sparkling' as their alien visitors called it. Whilst some of the scientists were naturally curious about the newly sparked mechanical life form, there were others such as Simmons, Salazar and Flynn who wanted to know what NBE-twenty eight was capable of. The Autobot's medic NBE-nine aka Ratchet wrote in his most recent report, which had been heavily decrypted, mentioned that the infant Cybertronian was giving off a distinct Allspark signature. They knew from the seventy six years of studying the cube, they had discovered its unique properties; the power to create mechanical life (however this only occurred once technology had evolved to the point they had been able to siphon energy from the alien artefact to conduct their own experiments) and to extinguish it.

The two agents entered the lift that would take them into the underground structure buried deep beneath the Nevada Desert, the EDF organisation had several structures like this one across the world in case any of them became compromised like the Hoover dam one had been four years ago. A slight rustle of a crisp suits betrayed the silence between the two men but there was nothing further until the life slid to a halt and the doors opened with a hiss. It was decidedly colder underground, cold enough that when the two men exhaled, their breath appeared as a white mist before them however years in a climate like this they quickly adapted although it didn't hurt to wear an extra layer or a coat.

An Airman, stood outside of a large metal blast door, rose to attention and saluted the two agents before Salazar slid his security card through the lock, the large blast door opened with a hiss then groaned as it swung open. The two agents stepped through and into a bright white corridor with a couple of different coloured stripes upon the floor which ran off in different directions, large glass paned windows revealed several laboratories all labelled specifically upon the security doors. A flicker of movement from one of them drew their attention before a set of doors whooshed open and a scientist stepped out, lab coat flapping behind him, the man was in his late forties with long slick black hair that was beginning to grey tied back into a ponytail. A pair of glasses sat on the tip of a hooked nose which was set in a sharp angled face, blue/grey eyes settled instantly upon the two men as they made their way to him before his gaze shifted to the folder under Simmons arm.

"This report better be worthwhile." The scientist said as Simmons handed it to him, he slipped off the elastic band that sealed it shut so he could take a quick peak at the documents inside.

"It is." Salazar replied "and they confirm what we originally thought, NBE-twenty eight is emitting a residual Allspark energy signature."

The scientist's face lit up at that "Wonderful." He flicked through a couple more pages "I assume NBE-nine's analysis of the infant is also in here?"

"Most definitely is." Simmons replied this time "it should make for some happy reading material."

"I would prefer it if NBE-twenty eight was here so we may study him further but if Doctor Hendrickson initial report was true, the NBE's are highly protective of their young." The scientist said as he closed the folder.

"Then you will have to settle for what you have there doctor unless an opportunity presents itself." Salazar replied "we've seen what our alien visitors are capable of and I do not wish to antagonise them." With those words he pointed them at Simmons who had, had a confrontation with them four years ago.

Agent Simmons simply raised an eyebrow as he glanced at Salazar since the other man was very much a hypocrite, the other agent had engaged NBE-five or better known as the Decepticon Starscream at the Hoover Dam after the battle in Mission City and barely escaped with his life "In any case how is the other projects coming along Doctor?"

"We've managed to fully dissect the three specimens and found some interesting findings however I'm having trouble assembling a team to begin dissecting the fourth NBE we were able to procure from the military, it seems many of them are afraid he'll come back on-line like he did at the Hoover Dam." The scientist said as they began walking down the corridor to the other set of blast doors at the end.

"We can't have that can we?" Simmons replied as he slid his security card through the lock on the side this time, the doors opened up into a large, dark and seemingly empty room however once the lights flickered to life; seven mechanical beings were revealed. Three of them had been stripped down and dissected, each part individually labelled and bagged unless it was larger than twelve inches. Another three were sat in vehicle form, two clearly Earthen, the other Cybertronian with wires and cables trailing from different areas on their chassis whilst the last was sat further back in the room. The large behemoth form had been their first indicator that there was life other than them in the universe, his large frame still bore deep lacerations and scorch marks not to mention his chest armour was a mess of melted metal, muscle cables and support structures.

The three men boldly strolled up to the large mechanoid unafraid of him in his deactivated state, Agent Salazar glanced past the behemoth to the other set of blast doors which normally led to the weapons testing area although a couple of months ago it was supposed to have been converted into a holding area for the discovered sample of Allspark energy a team of scientists had found in Antarctica. Well it would have done if the courier hadn't been attacked and destroyed by a F22 Raptor that had the ability to teleport, they knew that it wouldn't be long before Decepticon reinforcements would appear whether to continue their war here on Earth with the Autobots or exact revenge for their fallen leader. No-one knew and they continued to speculate but they had a feeling that whatever they had planned, they would have to be prepared for in order to ensure Earth's survival.

_So another chapter over and done with, pretty dam long one if I say so myself. I know EDF (earth defence force) seems lame but I needed to call them something and I had no other ideas in mind._

_Anyway take care until next time!_


	10. Naming the Guardians

I live! lol. I wanna thank everyone who reviewed, put this story on their alert list and favourited it, you guys are awesome. More so when having to wait for me to update this fic whenever I can, its a complete nightmare when having to share a laptop with your mum and sister. But I'm back and with a new chapter which Bluestreak's guardians are finally revealed.

Disclaimer: Yea we know the drill now. Transformers and anything associated with it, is not mine. But if it was I know I'd make some changes *glares at imaginary Michael Bay.*

_'Blah' – thoughts_

_**::Blah:: - Radio Communication**_

_:/blah\: - Inter. comm._

_**:://Blah\\:: Bond communication**_

* * * * * * * * * *

**Following Morning . . . .**

Prowl on-lined feeling slightly cramped but contented. He flipped on his optics and found that he was still lying in the couch he had settled into last night, in order catch up with any work that needed his attention. He realised now that maybe he should have gone into recharge when his bond-mate did. The Dodge Charger pushed himself up into a sitting position with a soft groan as his back and door wings protested against the movement, he quickly searched for the data-pads and the stylus he had been using yesterday only to find them stacked in a neat pile upon the table in front of the couch; no doubt put there by Jazz. The tactician searched along the bond he shared with the saboteur and found him in the wash rack, he checked his chronometer to find it a little after 08 hundred hours. He pushed himself up and out of the couch taking a moment or two to stretch out the kinks in his back and limbs before stepping over to the dispenser to fill one of the many bottles with the sparkling's specially made energon formula as without a doubt his son would wake shortly demanding his morning feed. And right on cue, Prowl heard the first whimpers from his sparkling's room, he shook the warm bottle as he made his way across to the open doorway knowing that he needed to get to Bluestreak before the infant worked himself up into a fit.

Prowl stepped into his creation's room and brought the lights up by half only for Bluestreak's rooting to intensify, the Dodge Charger projected reassurance to the unhappy sparkling as he made his way over to the infant's crib. Bluestreak's baby blue optics instantly fell upon his father and he made grabbing motions with his little hands, the tactician shook his head in amusement as he placed the bottle upon the table next to the crib then reached for the loudly keening sparkling. Prowl rested him against his chest plates before reaching for the bottle and without further delay popped the durable plastic top into Bluestreak's mouth instantly silencing his whimpers and the distress filtering through the bond, which no doubt would have Jazz come running to soothe him enough to take his energon. But thankfully the little grey infant hadn't got to the point where he wanted his spark carrier instead of his sire.

Bluestreak kept his baby blue optics focused upon his creator's facial plates until a movement from the corner of his optics had him pulling away from the bottle and staring curiously at the tip of a door wing that appeared over his father's right shoulder and was slowly waving back and forth, Jazz likened the motion to a butterfly when it was resting and one he found very cute. Particularly more so now that Prowl was performing the display nearly every hour of the day with the exception of when he was in recharge. Then they drove Jazz mad with their twitching instead. The tactician attempted to draw his creation's attention back to the bottle by gently running the tip of the plastic bit against Bluestreak's lip components. However the little grey infant was far more interested in his father's door wings and valiantly trying to flutter his own little stubby ones but all he managed to do was twitch them up and down slightly. Disappointed by his own efforts, a sad little frown appeared upon his young facial plates and Prowl on instinct projected reassurance and comfort to his sparkling before drooping his door wings so his creation could no longer see them.

"Sounds like someone's not a happy sparkling at the moment." Came the saboteur's voice from the door way, the Dodge Charger glanced across to his bond-mate as he began bouncing Bluestreak on his arms. Jazz stepped into the room and made his way to his mate and unhappy creation, the Solstice glanced down at his whimpering offspring before his gaze shifted to the half empty bottle dangling from Prowl's hand "want me to take him?"

The tactician gently handed Bluestreak to his spark carrier "You might be able to get him to take the rest of his bottle."

"Normally he's not fussy, what happened?" Jazz inquired as he sat down upon the berth and after a few failed attempts, he managed to get Bluestreak to finish the rest of the bottle. The Solstice placed the empty bottle down next to him before removing the sparkling from the blanket, he placed him over his left thigh to begin massaging and tapping the little grey infant's back plates. Bluestreak squirmed at first and sounded his displeasure at being removed from his warm and comfy cocoon with irritated clicking and loud beeps, that was until Jazz's efforts to wind him started to produce a rhythm that began to soothe him. The saboteur chuckled "like father, like son."

"Truly." Prowl responded "and to answer your question, the reason for his earlier upset was due to a new fascination he's developed." The special ops officer raised a single optic up at him.

"Fascination?" Jazz inquired as he watched his mate's door wings rise up to their normal relaxed positions whilst the ones flanking his hips flared out behind him.

"He finds my door wings intriguing." The tactician replied as he crossed the room to the small table that held a few things like wash cloths, a couple of bottles filled with cleaning solvents that had been made suitable for the sparkling (as they were currently having to use that to clean the week old infant at the moment), a fluffy roll of material that the humans called cotton wool and several drying cloths. They couldn't bathe him yet until his dermal plating had hardened and his chest plates had fully developed, so they were relegated to using either a wash cloth or cotton wool and the cleaning formula to wipe down the sparkling's light grey plating "and the reason for his upset was that he tried to mimic them with his own."

The Solstice chuckled as he sat Bluestreak on his little aft with one hand behind his back supporting him, Jazz gently poked the infant's belly earning him a sound that suspiciously sounded like giggling "Well see if he can do it now that nothin' is restrictin' them." The Dodge Charger raised a single optic ridge questioningly at his mate not sure whether he wanted to see a look of disappointment and failure upon the facial plates of a life as young as Bluestreak. But none the less crossed the room and crouched before the berth the Solstice was sat on with their sparkling in his lap.

"Blue." He rumbled to get the infant's attention, the loudly chirping and clicking sparkling turned from his daddy to his father and renewed his chirps, clicks and coos with vigour until he saw his creator's door wings flutter then he fell quiet. Baby blue optics watched intently as his father fluttered, twitched and waved his door wings back and forth before a look of concentration appeared upon Bluestreak's facial plates. Both parents watched as their sparkling attempted with all his might to mimic the small motions his father was doing with his own door wings and after a few failed attempts was successful in his persistence to get them to move. The little stubby protrusions that had no problem rising into a 'V' formation when he subconsciously thought about them, flickered back and forth then fluttered when Bluestreak squealed in delight at his accomplishment. Prowl smiled at his son and could feel the excitement the sparkling was feeling, filtering through the bond before the loud chirping and clicking started again including the sparkling's new found ability to flutter his sensory panels.

_**::// See, ya far from borin' love.\\::**_ Jazz told his mate as he pushed himself up from the berth with Bluestreak wriggling in the crook of his left arm making loud irritated chirping noises. Prowl pushed himself up to his full height as he watched his mate lay the infant down upon a thin blanket that the silver mech laid out one handed before taking the cleansing solution, the small bowel they were using at the moment and the cloth from the tactician. The black and white watched as Bluestreak squeaked at the cold sensation upon his arm as the Solstice gently applied the corner of a cleaning cloth with solution on before renewing his wriggling upon the cloth, Prowl was about to kneel down beside Jazz when the silver mech rested a hand upon his chest plates and pushed him back. The tactician frowned at his mate as usually they cleaned their sparkling together, as one served as a distraction so the other could get Bluestreak clean "wash rack love, you smell like the med-bay." Prowl's frown deepened but when he 'sniffed' his upper arm, he could smell the sterility that was usually associated with the med-bay.

_**::// Will you be alright with Blue?"\\::**_ The Dodge Charger inquired as he watched as his son kick up a protest about being cleaned.

_**::// I'll be fine love, go.\\::**_ The Solstice told him as he wiped the cloth down the inside of the sparkling's arm down to the shoulder joint before dipping it in the small bowl of cleanser. Prowl watched for a couple more seconds as the silver mech squeezed the cloth to get rid of the extra liquid then gently applied it to their sparkling's delicate chest plates before finally stepping out of the room and toward their wash rack. Bluestreak continued to voice his disapproval of such 'treatment' with loud twittering and irritated clicks ad even made it a chore for Jazz to clean his limbs by flailing them until the saboteur picked the infant up and set him on his front. The sparkling grunted his disapproval and flared his stubby sensory panels then twitched them up into a 'V' position, Jazz chuckled at the infant's behaviour as he gently grasped one of the little appendages to clean it whilst he sent thoughts of love, comfort and reassurance through the bond soothing the unhappiness racing through the little one's spark.

The Solstice began humming the lullabies he had adopted from the humans culture and Bluestreak instantly began to settle, Jazz humming to the infant always settled him down no matter the fit he had worked himself into. The sparkling continued to chirp as the silver mech wiped down the rest of his derma plating then turned him over onto his back taking some time to lay the little one's sensory panels flat, he gently poked Bluestreak's abdominal plates prompting a giggle to escape the little grey mech before he wrapped the bottom half of the blanket the sparkling was lying upon around his legs and middle. Jazz handed Bluestreak a soft toy to play with which instantly went into the sparkling's mouth to be sampled as he pushed himself onto his feet and stepped across the room, the little grey infant watched as his spark carrier placed the blue blanket he had been bundled in back into the crib. The saboteur took the blanket (which had been a gift from Will Lennox and his wife) off the side of the crib and stepped back over to Bluestreak who was still quite happily chewing on the soft toy.

"That's not supposed to go in ya mouth lil Blue." Jazz told his creation as he picked the sparkling up and settled him into the crook of his left arm, Bluestreak simply chirped at him through a mouthful of toy. The saboteur stepped out of the room but not before turning out the lights and made his way over to the dispenser where he retrieved two mugs from the cupboard above it, sporadic clicks escaped the sparkling as Jazz filled the two mugs with energon then carried them across to the small table. The Solstice perched himself upon the couch and glanced down at Bluestreak who was staring at him with bright baby blue optics whilst muffled chirps escaped his vocaliser, the silver mech gently pried the head of the soft toy out of the sparkling's mouth and pressed it into the little grey infant's diminutive hand. However it quickly ended up back where it was initially; in Bluestreak's mouth "just like ya father, stickin' things in ya mouth."

"I believe that is something you should not be talking to our creation about." Prowl said as he stepped across the room and glanced over the top of the couch and down at his son who was happily sprawled in his mate's lap.

"Who said I was talkin' about that." Jazz replied as he glanced up at his lover "I may have been referrin' ta that time when ya chewed on ya stylus and choked on th' bit ya broke off."

Prowl stepped round the couch and sat beside his mate "Must you remind me of that." He stroked the back of a finger down Bluestreak's forehead and was met with muffled chirps, clicks and coos.

"Well it was kinda ya own fault love." The Solstice told him as he sipped his mug of energon, he happily left out the part where he had been tormenting Prowl's sensory panels at the time the incident occurred. Ratchet had been less than pleased when he had shown up in the office and smacked the tactician upon the back plates to dislodge the foreign object then left. But not before lecturing the duo of course. However Prowl still hadn't grown out of chewing on the end of his stylus and Jazz still proceeded to pester the black and white in his office.

"We have our appointment with Ratchet at oh nine hundred." Prowl reminded the Solstice as he sipped his own mug of warm energon whilst tracing the small plates that formed Bluestreak's palm, the sparkling giggled and wrapped his tiny fingers around the tactician's index finger to prevent him from tickling his palm any further.

"I know, no need ta remind me." Jazz responded as he placed his empty mug upon the table, he sat back and glanced down at Bluestreak who was attempting to fit his father's finger in his mouth alongside the head of the toy he already had in there. In the end the sparkling pulled the toy from his mouth and started hitting Jazz with it whilst he shoved the tactician's finger straight into his mouth "looks like we're definitely gonna have ta sparklin' proof the place." That meant the Solstice's usual clutter that hogged corners of the room or near the shelving units where they were supposed to be would have to be tidied and then moved up out of the way.

"Not for a while yet." The tactician said as he wiggled his index finger out of the infant's mouth and hand, the black and white mech got to his feet before plucking Bluestreak out of Jazz's lap and settling him high upon his left shoulder. The Solstice dragged himself out of the couch and followed his mate out of their quarters and toward the med-bay. The corridors were slightly chillier than normal leaving Prowl with the task to try and bundle the blanket around a squirming sparkling, Bluestreak was energetically displaying his excitement about being able to see his father's door wings with loud chirps and feeble attempts to mimic his creator's wing movements with his own smaller ones.

"Somehow I don't think the fascination for ya door wings are gonna wear off any time soon." Jazz told his mate as he circled round him and hid behind one of the white wings before glancing round it commencing a game of peek a boo with their sparkling. But it didn't last long as the doors for the repair bay came into view whilst Bluestreak warbled tiredly at his spark carrier right before tucking his head into the side of Prowl's neck, although he didn't drop off into recharge straight away. Jazz smoothed a clawed hand over the infant's head before stepping into the repair bay first. The sight that met his optics was amusing in itself as on the far side was Hound, Mirage and Ratchet. Both the spy and the tracker were covered head to the in mud and dust whilst the CMO was pounding dents out of the Ford GT's back armour plates. The Solstice heard Prowl utter something about not letting their sparkling get dirty before the tactician stepped away from him with a now slumbering Bluestreak perched upon his shoulder, Jazz shook his head in amusement as he made his way across to the Hummer and his two subordinates.

"I'd ask but I'm not sure whether I'd like th' answer?" The saboteur inquired as he watched Mirage wince when Ratchet none too gently pounded a dent out upon the spy's lower back.

Hound glanced at his superior with a sheepish look upon his facial plates "We had a little off roading accident."

"Accident my aft." The Hummer began "you young bots tend to get more injuries from simple 'accidents' than fighting the slaggin' Decepticons for Primus' sake, I swear each and every one of you is determined to send me over the edge at full speed."

"Nah Ratch you were crazy before we met ya." Jazz added unhelpfully before having to duck out of the way when a tool sailed through the air in his direction, there was a startled yelp from Prowl when the wrench intended to injure his mate, slid past his feet. The Solstice frowned disapprovingly at the medic and knew his expression would be mirrored by his mate before a surge of over protectiveness from Prowl echoed in his spark.

"Is Bluestreak well?" Mirage inquired as he glanced from the tactician to his superior.

"Yea he's doin' fine." The silver mech responded "in fact Hound ya can go take a look if ya want." The tracker glanced at the Solstice somewhat surprised before quietly making his way over to Prowl and subsequently Bluestreak. However he managed to get but a couple of feet from the Dodge Charger when he saw the black and white's door wings flare up into a 'V' position warning the green Jeep Wrangler not to come any closer. Jazz shot his mate a disapproving look but the resolve to protect their sparkling was transmitting quite clearly through their bond "tell ya what, you guys get cleaned up and meet us in th' rec. room." The other bonded couple nodded their agreement whilst the Solstice made his way over to Prowl chiding his mate for his behaviour over their bond. However the tactician refused to let his guard down whilst the other two special ops mechs were still in the room until finally Ratchet booted the pair of them out with a threat that he would reformat them the next time they attempted off roading when only one of them was capable of doing so.

"Prowl you can stand down now." Ratchet told the black and white as he stepped over to where his tools were and picked up his portable scanner before making his way over to the tactician and the saboteur.

Jazz scrutinised his mate closely "Is the over protectiveness normal Ratch?"

The CMO glanced at the Solstice before his gaze trailed to the Dodge Charger "Yes it is." The medic then scrutinised the silver mech "however I was expecting you to exhibit the behaviour not the other way around, have you felt the compunction to be over protective at all?"

"No." Jazz replied.

"Yes." Prowl said, the Solstice caught his gaze and frowned at him "many a time during our stay here in the med-bay." Jazz was about to argue his point when he realised that yes he had been a little over protective the past week but not in the same way as Prowl had behaved toward Mirage and Hound.

Ratchet waited to see if the pair were going to start one of their infamous arguments but when the Solstice visibly deflated he knew it wasn't going to happen "Alright you up on the berth then I'll take some readings of Bluestreak after." Jazz nodded and clambered up onto the berth and waited for the CMO to declare his medically fit since it had been too long since he had last transformed into his alt. mode, that and he didn't need any reoccurring health problems for when he returned to full active service. However a small part of him hoped that there was as he wanted to observe Bluestreak's first year of life but although Mirage had done well in his place whilst he had been 'sparked', no-one could replace him or his expertise. He realised his thoughts had passed through the bond when Prowl's door wings drooped slightly and their sparkling shifted uneasily in his sleep, Jazz managed a small smile which soon grew when his bond-mate began sending reassuring and comforting thoughts through the bond that not only put him at ease but their creation as well.

Ratchet ran his scan of the Solstice but he could not help but notice a couple of new glyphs upon the long left silver fin, not too mention that Jazz's energy signature had changed and the Allspark shard that had once resided inside of his spark chamber was no longer there. The medic kept his concerns well under wraps as he declared the special ops officer fit and healthy and that his transformation circuits would come back on-line in the next few days before he instructed Prowl to lie Bluestreak down upon the berth Jazz had just vacated. The tiny infant didn't stir from his morning nap although as soon as his blanket was opened, he squeaked and curled his small fragile body up into a tight ball. Ratchet quickly made his visual inspection of Bluestreak to make sure his derma plating was developing properly then covered him again to stave off the slight chill in the air. Both parents watched as the Hummer ran the portable scanner over their sparkling's miniature form.

"How was your first night with him?" The medic inquired as he inspected the results only to frown at what he saw. Both Jazz and Prowl glanced at Bluestreak in concern before the tactician spoke up.

"He was fine last night. Ratchet is there something wrong?"

The CMO glanced at the Solstice and Dodge Charger, he knew that he needed to reassure the pair of them by not revealing what was on the scanner. They had enough to deal with without adding this to it "Everything is fine, he's perfectly healthy." Ratchet caught Jazz looking at him and he knew the saboteur wasn't quite convinced, even Prowl looked at him sceptically "I thought I saw something that warranted my attention that was all but everything appears to be in order, you're all free to go." Both progenitors still didn't look convinced but they didn't press the issue any further, Jazz moved forward to claim Bluestreak and curled him against his chest armour "I'll check through Bluestreak's readings and notify you if I do find something, I'll also contact you about making another appointment."

"Sure Ratch" The Solstice said as he made his way to the doors, Prowl remained a moment longer still not quite convinced about his child's well being but none the less joined his mate at the door before the pair of them stepped out of the room. Ratchet watched them leave then headed toward his office, he needed to review the data he had before informing Optimus of the findings he had that were both startling and worrying at the same time. He knew eventually he would have to tell Prowl and Jazz about their sparkling, and was not looking forward to the day when they would have that conversation.

The journey to the recreation room was quiet as neither Prowl nor Jazz spoke to one another since they left the med-bay, even their bond was quiet as the pair quietly brooded over what was wrong with their son and why Ratchet was being secretive all of a sudden. They kept their thoughts and feelings to a minimum as they wanted Bluestreak to be in a complacent mood for when he finally met the other Autobots and humans. Both the Solstice and the Dodge Charger entered the rec. room to find it relatively empty although it was somewhat expected since the first shift had started about 2 hours ago. Who they did find was Ironhide sat at one of the tables cleaning and inspecting his weapons, Major Lennox and Sergeant Epps were over in the humans corner of the room going through paperwork that would without a doubt keep them occupied for most of the morning if not the afternoon as well. Also in the room much to Prowl's disgruntlement was the twins whom were deeply engrossed in a game that involved hacking zombies to pieces, the tactician decided there and then that the games would be better off played later in the evening once Bluestreak was much older. He cringed inwardly when he saw Sideswipe whoop when a zombie was very messily and noisily killed by a gun of some kind.

"We were beginning to wander when we were going to see the tyke." Epps said as he glanced in the bonded couple's direction.

"Morning guys." Lennox greeted them as he set his pen down and leant back in his chair, he smiled when he saw the blanket that Bluestreak was wrapped up in was the one his wife had made in-between being a mother and a housewife. Will knew he would have to let Sarah know that her hard labour had not been in vain, and that the blanket was a perfect fit as she had fretted over the general size of it. Ironhide had told her it was fine and would eventually be used as a comfort blanket as Bluestreak got older.

"Mornin' to ya Major an' Sergeant." The Solstice responded as he moved closer to the humans whilst Prowl watched as Sideswipe glanced over the top of the couch at him, he proceeded to elbow his twin in the side, chanting his brother's name. The not so 'Sunny' bot snarled at him and raised a fist intending to hit his twin when his character died however the gold Lamborghini quickly deflated and uncurled his fist when he saw Prowl's reflection in the television screen. He grumbled something in Cybertronian under his breath as he backtracked through the menu to find out where he had last saved so he could start the game again. The tactician stepped over to where his mate was proudly showing off their sparkling to the two army rangers who were now sat upon Ironhide's shoulders so they could get a better look, Prowl heard footsteps behind him and glanced over his shoulder to see Sideswipe making his way over.

"That's twenty bucks you owe me." Lennox said as he held out his left hand out to Epps and twitched his fingers as if to say 'gimme', Robert Epps cursed under his breath as he fished into his left back pocket and pulled out his wallet, he reluctantly handed over the two green notes to a triumphant looking Will.

"Dare I ask what ya betted on?" Jazz inquired as he rubbed soothing circles upon Bluestreak's back plates.

"On who the kid looks like." Epps replied "thankfully I'm not the only one who thought that lil Blue was gonna look like you."

Sideswipe stopped in his advance when he heard that "Wait! What?!" Lennox chuckled at the red Lamborghini's expression since he knew the front-liner was also hoping for the sparkling to look like Jazz rather than Prowl "you gotta be kiddin' me? It's bad enough we already have one Prowl without having another one around." The Solstice frowned at Sideswipe whilst the tactician's door wings began to rise up into the infamous 'V' formation, the red Lamborghini noticed the somewhat hurt expression upon the silver mech's facial plates "I mean I'm glad Blue's here an' all an' that you're back to normal but don't ya think ya coulda . . . ."

THUNK!

"Son of a glitch! What was that for?!" Sideswipe demanded as he rubbed the back of his helm where Ironhide had clipped him. The weapons specialist never got the chance to come back with a remark when Bluestreak on-lined and started emitting irritated clicks, chirps and beeps at whoever the offender was that woke him up, Jazz gently nuzzled his small grey head and murmured comforting words to the rather vocal sparkling "urgh he sounds like he's lecturing me the same way you do."

"Actually." Prowl began as he smoothed a hand over his son's head "he is behaving exactly the same way that Jazz does when he's pulled out of recharge ahead of schedule."

"Like someone else I know." Lennox replied as he glared at Epps, the master sergeant simply shrugged at his superior officer. The others whilst they had been in Iraq four years ago, had given Will the chore of waking Robert in the morning after having various pieces of the man's itinerary thrown at them. In the end they had resorted to more underhanded tactics that did include cold water being thrown or dribbled onto the man, after that Epps always made the effort to be up before his team mates. The two men returned their attention to the sparkling as the irritated clicks, beeps and chirps became soft coos and clicks however the montage of vocalisation from Bluestreak did not stop for one moment. Both Lennox and Epps now fully understood why the sparkling had been given the Earth expressionism 'blue streak' as a designation, and it suited him exceptionally well.

"You know ya life is never gonna be quiet ever again." The master sergeant told the tactician.

Prowl gave a small smile at that "My life has never been quiet since I met Jazz." The saboteur gave his bond-mate a mock hurt expression "but I would have it no other way." Jazz snorted at that, there had been many a time when the tactician had locked the silver mech out of their quarters or his office so he could get a few minutes of peace.

"Here Sideswipe wanna hold him?" The special ops mech inquired as he glanced at the red Lamborghini, the front-liner looked at Jazz as if he had finally stepped off the deep end whilst Prowl's door wing's flared up behind him.

"I'll pass, I might drop him." The red warrior replied however his decision was quickly changed when he heard his twin utter 'wuss' under his breath, Sideswipe gritted his denta refusing to snap back at his brother that would without a doubt start a fight between them and the last thing he wanted was to be sent somewhere where he would have to listen to his brother bitch about his paintwork for Primus knows how long "I changed my mind but I swear if I drop him I'm not being held responsible."

"You held Bumblebee when he was a sparklin' an' ya never dropped him." Ironhide said, Sideswipe grinned sheepishly at the weapons specialist "you dropped 'im?!"

"It was only the once, the little fragger wouldn't stop squirming and he just slipped out of my arms." The red Lamborghini admitted as he stepped back and away from the GMC Topkick Truck. He remembered that day quite clearly when Bumblebee had been given to him and his brother to watch over, the little yellow bot had squirmed so much that he had slipped from the front-liner's arms and fallen to the floor. Luckily enough it had been an easy escape as Bumblebee had neither been injured or cried, in fact he had just clambered to his feet and bolted across the room and never uttered a word about it whilst Sideswipe had been contemplating the quickest way to off-line himself.

"Well I'm sure you're not gonna drop Blue beside ya weren't the only one ta drop 'Bee." Jazz said as he stepped toward the red Lamborghini, both Prowl and Ironhide stared at the back of the Solstice in disbelief.

"How come I'm only hearin' about all this now?" The weapons specialist demanded as he watched the saboteur hand over the infant to Sideswipe.

"Because we'd know what ya would have done ta us if we had even uttered a single word to ya, Optimus knew about every little mishap though." Jazz told Ironhide as he corrected the hold the red Lamborghini had on Bluestreak especially once the sparkling started wriggling to make himself more comfortable in the front-liner's hold.

_**::// Whose the wuss now Sunny?\\::**_ Sideswipe mocked his twin through their bond, the gold Lamborghini flinched ever minutely and his grip tightened upon the controller pad which creaked in his grasp **_::// Pompous two bit git.\\::_** Sunstreaker proceeded to ignore his brother as he knew Sideswipe was using Bluestreak to his advantage since the gold warrior wouldn't be able to lay a finger on him.

_:/ Sides stop tormenting' Sunny.\:_ Jazz sent over the internal comm.'s, he watched as the gold warrior visibly tensed and showed subtle hints in body language that he and his twin were communicating over their bond _:/ besides use ya energy in answerin' ma son before he starts twitterin' at ya.\: _

Sideswipe glanced down at the sparkling in his arms and smiled before clicking in response to every one of Bluestreak's chirps, beeps and clicks, the little grey infant gave off a whirl of curiosity before his gaze fell upon something on top of Sideswipe's helm.

"What have you seen that's got your interest?" The red Lamborghini inquired even though he would not get an answer, well one that he could understand anyway. Bluestreak wiggled an arm out of his blanket and reached up, little fingers making grabbing motions "what are you after little one?" Sideswipe proceeded to look around him to see what had caught the sparkling's attention but nothing he saw was prominent enough unless you counted the flat screen TV where zombies were being ruthlessly killed.

"Sides it's a little closer ta home." The Solstice told the red Lamborghini when he noticed the direction in which his creation was reaching in, Sideswipe glanced at the silver mech in confusion before it changed to one of surprise when Jazz pointed to one of his helm horns. It quickly dawned on the front-liner why Bluestreak was making grabbing motions in the direction of his head.

"Yea I got them too, although they're no where near dangerous looking as ya spark carrier's." Sideswipe told the sparkling as he stepped away from Bluestreak's creators introducing him to a few things that he considered 'fundamental' to the sparkling's integration into the human's culture and development.

"Funny how it takes one sparklin' to calm an' obnoxious twin." Ironhide said as he placed Lennox and Epps upon the floor then turned to the Solstice and Dodge Charger "so have ya both thought of a guardian or guardians for the tyke yet?"

"Not yet." Prowl replied as he continued to keep an optic on Sideswipe who was chatting quite happily with Bluestreak in the humans language then he would swap to Cybertronian before reverting back to the rudimentary code sparkling's used to communicate.

"Acutally I have." Jazz said, both the weapons specialist and the tactician glanced at him curiously, the pair of them anxious to know who the saboteur had chosen. More so the Dodge Charger since the silver mech hadn't run any potential candidate names for the role past him yet and he was beginning to dread who his mate had chosen.

Ironhide quirked a single optic ridge up at Jazz "And?"

"And I decided upon the twins."

There was various reactions all around, Sideswipe instantly stopped chatting with the little grey infant and looked at the Solstice in surprise however he wasn't the only one; the weapons specialist looked completely flabbergasted. Out of the corner of his vision he could see Sunstreaker's look of absolute horror whilst the sound of someone spluttering and choking followed by a string of human profanities reached his audios. Jazz barely had the chance to see Will glare at his team mate as he mopped up the coffee upon the front of his t-shirt when he heard the mechanical whine of a systems shutdown. He turned in time to witness his mate's optics go dark and shutter before he toppled backwards. The Solstice made a grab for one of his lover's arms in order to prevent his fall from injuring his door wings only to succeed in getting pulled down with the tactician, and landing upon him in a compromising position.

Jazz pushed himself up and off his mate and knelt down beside the unconscious military strategist. He turned his head in the direction Sideswipe was in when he heard his sparkling whimper unhappily, the saboteur sent a burst of comfort and reassurrance to Bluestreak and the infant instantly quietened.

"Your CPU glitchin' or somethin'?" Ironhide inquired as he finally overcame his shock at the announcement "because why would you in ya right mind choose the twins?!"

"Coz we're awesome." The red Lamborghini told the black mech as he sat down upon the couch next to his twin who looked at his brother as if he had finally gone insane.

"I have ma reasons." Jazz replied as he attempted to bring his bond-mate out of stasis lock. But after a few failed attempts, the Solstice knew his best bet was with Ratchet and activated his comm. link.

_:/ Ratchet here.\:_

_:/ Ratch gotta problem, Prowl's dropped in ta stasis lock in th' rec. room.\:_ Jazz told the medic.

_:/ Do I dare ask what you said or did to him?\: _The question sounded accussing but the saboteur simply ignored it.

_:/ Probably not a good idea.\:_ The Solstice replied.

_:/ Alright I'm on my way.\:_ The comm. link went quiet and the saboteur glanced down at his bond-mate, he knew he had some explaining to do once Prowl came back on-line. The silver mech turned his attention toward the door way of the recreation room when he heard the doors whoosh open and spotted both Hound and Mirage stepping into the room, the pair of them now clean although their paintwork was sporting varied scrapes and chips. Both of the newcomers glanced in Jazz's direction in concern when they saw Prowl upon the floor out cold.

"What happened?" The spy inquired as he and his bond-mate made their way over.

"Jazz dropped a proverbial bomb shell on us." Ironhide began "he's named Blue's guardians." The two mechs glanced at their superior who met their gaze.

"I choose th' twins as Blue's guardians." Jazz replied, he saw the surprised looks both his subordinates gave him before he glanced across the room to where Sideswipe was speaking to his son about the gold Lamborghini. The saboteur smiled when the red Lamborghini explained to Bluestreak that Sunstreaker was really a nice guy once one got to know him but just liked being mean to the others. The Solstice was suddenly surprised when he saw his sparkling making grabbing motions towards the gold Lamborghini. Sunstreaker was doing his best to ignore the loudly chirping and cooing infant but in the end his resolved crumbled and he reluctantly dropped the game controller he had been holding, Sideswipe immediately began instructing his brother how to cradle his arms only to receive a few snide remarks in reply before Bluestreak was deposited in his arms.

All in the room watched as the gold front-liner visibly tensed and generally looked uncomfortable at holding the tiny Cybertronian but as the seconds began to trickle by into minutes, Sunstreaker began to relax and grow accustomed to holding Bluestreak until the sparkling 'sneezed'. The gold Lamborghini's upper lip curled up in disgust at the little droplets of fluid upon his chest plates but Bluestreak didn't find him scary in the slightest, in fact he smiled innocently at the front-liner before continuing on with his never ending clicking and chirping.

"I believe you have made the right choice in guardians." Mirage said as he made his way to the Solstice then dropped down onto one knee and thrust his arms out before him and gripped his right fist with his left, Jazz glanced at him curiously before the spy spoke to him in their native tongue and he responded in turn.

"What's goin' on?" Lennox inquired as he watched the two special ops mechs across him, the Cybertronians rarely ever spoke about let alone performed any of their rituals here on Earth. The only one they had been privy too in the four years that the Autobots had been on their planet, was Jazz and Prowl's bonding ceremony. But even then, it hadn't been the full ritual however it had been the human's first glimpse into Cybertronian society.

"Watch." Ironhide replied, Will frowned at the black weapons specialist but none the less glanced back toward the spy to see him get to his feet and making his way over to Sunstreaker since he was still holding Bluestreak. The blue and white Ford GT began speaking to the sparkling in Cybertronian and brushed the back of a finger down the infant's forehead and nose, Bluestreak's very vocal clicks and chirps fell silent as he watched the new comer speak to him in a strange language. The spy finished his passage and reached into his sub-space and removed a folded white piece of cloth and gently placed it in Bluestreak's diminutive palm and curled his fingers around it. Mirage smiled at the sparkling as he immediately tried to shove the folded cloth into his mouth only for Sunstreaker to pry it out of his fingers, and hand it over to the saboteur as he came to investigate what the spy had given his son.

"So are you gonna fill us in about what just happened?" Will asked as he made his way across to the silver Solstice who had opened the cloth and was gazing down at the tiny object cocooned within.

Jazz glanced toward where the spy was standing with his bond-mate "Thanks 'Raj." The blue and white Ford GT dipped his head in acknowledgement before glancing over his shoulder to see Ratchet step into the room.

"So?" Will asked, the saboteur glanced down at him before following the humans gaze to the object in his hand.

"It's an age old tradition, that was largely practised by the nobles from the towers on our home world long before the war started." Jazz began to explain as he watched Ratchet attend to his unconscious mate "A mech or femme would give a gift to a new sparklin' to wish them good luck an' fortune." The silver mech knelt down and showed the Major the highly polished red/purple crystal in his palm that had gold Cybertronian embelms craved down one of its sides.

"We have a similiar one, where a mother will give her first grandaughter a piece of silver, which generally most times is the first charm that goes onto a bracelet, for good luck and fortune." Lennox replied, he was beginning to realise just how very much a like their two species were and wandered what other traditions or ceremonies that were similiar to their own.

The Solstice covered the rare Praxian crystal up again and stood "Cybertronians also have another ceremony that was long ago practised, I believe the human equivilent is Baptism"

"Really?" Epps inquired as he glanced at a just an equally surprised Lennox.

"Yea man really, an' I know Prowler's gonna want the ceremony for lil Blue." Jazz replied as he glanced over to where the CMO and his bond-mate was, he could feel Prowl coming back to awareness and started moving in that direction before Ratchet called for him. The tactician pushed himself unsteadily up into a sitting position and blinked his optic shutters several times as he tried to clear his fuzzy processor, the Solstice reached out and gently gripped his bond-mate's right upper arm.

"What happened?" The Dodge Charger inquired as he met his mate's gaze. The saboteur knew the black and white mech was experiencing the usual after processor crash effects, that generally ended up with him having to help his lover remember what happened before he slipped into stasis lock.

Jazz's hand mitigated from Prowl's upper arm down to the white hand that was sat in the tactician's lap "What's the last thing ya remember?" Prowl's gaze shifted from his bond-mate's and glanced around the room before he saw the twins on the other side of the room. Suddenly it came back to him and he felt the beginning of stasis lock once again when he remembered exactly what Jazz had said moments before he lost consciousness; his mate had named the twins as his son's guardians. The twins of all mechs! "oh no ya don't Prowler stay wit' me 'ere!" The saboteur pulled his hand away from his mate's and roughly grabbed a shoulder joint where he jabbed a clawed finger into a pressure point, the pain was enough to jolt the military strategist back to his senses. Prowl pulled away sharply from his mate and scowled at him whilst Ratchet frowned disapprovingly at the Solstice but Jazz simply ignored him "before ya decide ta crash ya processor again, look at th' twins, an' I mean really look."

One of the tactician's optic ridges rose at his mate's strange request before glancing across to where the twins were sat upon the couch, he pushed back the thoughts that the twins weren't exactly the ideal candidates for guardians to the back of his mind as he took in the scene before him. Sunstreaker was still holding Bluestreak but was now gently rocking the sparkling into recharge whilst Sideswipe hummed softly, a complete opposite to the two mechs he had come to know as being violent, obnoxious and arrogant. It almost seemed unnatural to him to see them in that state and Prowl was slowly beginning to understand why Jazz had chosen them as their creation's guardians, they were both loyal, self sacrificing mechs that would sooner put themselves in the line of fire to protect their comrades, and with their fierce determination meant that any Decepticon stupid enough to try and steal Bluestreak from them would sorely regret it.

"If I had known a sparkling would calm the twins down, I would have encouraged someone to have one sooner." Ratchet commented as he watched the scene with the twins also, a smile made its way onto both Prowl and Jazz's facial plates as they saw a smile creep up onto the usually surly Sunstreaker's face "well I ought to be getting back to the med-bay."

The Solstice glanced at the medic "Thanks Ratch."

"Just don't lock up his logic circuits again or I will have to reformat you into some sort of kitchen appliance." The Hummer threatened good naturedly.

"I'll try not too." The saboteur replied as he helped pull his bond-mate to his feet "but you an' I have somethin' to discuss."

Prowl was dragged across the room by his mate with a questioning look upon his facial plates "And what might that be?"

Ratchet knew exactly what the conversation was going to be as he made his way out of the recreation room, he had a feeling Prowl would say yes to the baptism of the sparkling after all it would bring closure to the two parents should anything happen to their sparkling. Not that he wanted anything to happen to Bluestreak especially with the new information he held upon the tiny infant. In fact he decided, whilst he was thinking about the small Cybertronian, to head back to the med-bay and grab the information he had on the sparkling then head up to Optimus. The CMO was about to input the code to the med-bay when the doors whooshed open and one of the humans med techs stepped out blatantly ignoring him, his scanners registered however a slightly heightened heart rate but he put it down to surprising the human before stepping inside.

He made the casual sweep with his optics over the repair bay to make sure everything was in order, since after several hundred thousand millenia with the twins taught him to check on his equipment in case anything had been removed without his consent. Satisfied that everything was in order, Ratchet made his way over to his office and stepped inside. His gaze instantly fell upon the single data-pad sat next to the flat screen monitor which he quickly collected and headed back out of the med-bay and toward the control room. However a quick look inside told him that Optimus was not there and knew that the only other place the Prime would be; was his office. The medic knew that he should comm. his commander but he was feeling slightly paranoid about stating his intentions, that and he knew he might be able to catch Optimus in the act of recharging at his desk. Again. Ratchet pressed the call button on the side with his thumb and heard the Semi Peterbuilt grant him access, the doors whooshed open and he stepped hesitantly inside once he saw Red Alert there.

"If this is bad timing Sir, I can always come back later." The Hummer said as he glanced at the security director who looked about ready to have one of his paranoid fritzes. Optimus' gaze fell upon the single data-pad Ratchet was holding before meeting his gaze, the Prime had a feeling that what ever was on the data-pad was significantly important.

"It's alright Ratchet, you may stay." The blue and red mech replied from where he was sat behind his desk, the CMO stepped further into the room and the doors slid shut behind him. The medic's gaze instantly fell upon the large flat screen monitor that had been turned around and the highlighted files upon the screen "we believe we have a security breach."

"A security breach?" Ratchet asked as he perched himself in the spare chair, he saw Red Alert cringe slightly at that as it was up to the BMW emergency vehicle to keep the base's security in tip top condition. He also knew the red and white mech would take it personally that someone or bot (the medic frowned internally at that but knew of at least three mechs he could name straight away) had managed to get past his security systems.

"There have been several unauthorised log ins some dating back a few earth months ago." The security director started "I would have bet good energon on the special ops unit and that pestilence Sideswipe but since duty schedules and security footage shows them no where near the sites where the hack ins occurred, suggests that they are all innocent."

"Don't let Jazz hear you say that, you know exactly what happened the last time you accused his ops team of something they didn't do." Ratchet snapped at Red Alert. The CMO remembered quite clearly what happened, there had been an a fist fight between Jazz and Inferno when the latter stepped in during the argument in the security centre. It had taken the efforts of several mechs to pull the pair apart and a few more to pin the silver mech to the floor and have him cuffed then eventually sedated when he continued to free himself from the restraints. After the incident Red Alert had been made to apologise to the head of special ops for his jumping to conclusions whilst Jazz had been relegated brig time, of course it did not stop the ever paranoid mech from naming the special ops team first if there was ever a security breach or Sideswipe for that matter. And now with humans working along side them only seem to heighten his paranoia.

Optimus glanced from Red Alert to Ratchet "Has there been anyone you've noticed at all acting suspiciously?"

The medic contemplated his answer for the moment before one person in particular crossed his mind "I suppose I could pass her off for being naturally curious about the sparkling but Doctor Hendrickson would be worth looking into."

"Yes she might." Optimus replied, he recalled the incident a couple of months back when Barricade had escaped their holding centre and they had a run in with Agent Simmons who too had expressed a natural curiousity about the infant Cybertronian. Ever since then, Optimus would admit, there had not been a day that went by that the Autobot leader thought about what the humans would want with the information on their newest member to their 'family'. But nothing came to mind which frustrated him greatly, he wanted to protect the new little life will all his spark since he could very well be the last.

"I believe that we should haul her in for questioning, we may be able to find out who she has been divulging the information too and what they intend to do with it." Red Alert immediately suggested "also a rigourous background must be done too make sure she is not hiding anything."

"Red every one had their backgrounds checked before they were recruited to NEST." Ratchet explained to the security director "we participated in most of their interviews."

"I will contact Tom Banachek to have Doctor Hendrickson brought in for questioning however you are only to confer with them and not to involve yourself directly with their interrogations." Optimus told the red and white mech who opened his mouth plates ready to protest, well he would have done if not for the hand the Prime held up to silence him "am I understood?"

"Yes Sir." The security director replied reluctantly.

The semi Peterbuilt sat forward and rested his elbows upon his desk with his index fingers steepled in front of him, he glanced at his security director "Very well, I shall go over your reports and confer with you should I find anything but for now you are dismissed." The BMW emergency vehicle nodded in acknowledgement before taking his leave. The two mechs watched him step out of the office before Optimus released a long sigh from his intakes and pinched the bridge of his nasal plates with his thumb and index finger of his right hand.

"I suggest after your shift is finished that you report to your quarters for recharge." The CMO ordered his CO.

Prime smiled at that "Is that a suggestion or an order?"

Ratchet schooled a stern look at his leader "I can make it an order and let Ironhide take command of the base until I see your fit enough to return to duty."

"And I can imagine the mayhem now." The red and blue mech said as he sat back "so what can I do for you old friend?"

"Have a look over these readings." The CMO replied as he placed the data-pad he had been holding upon the desk and gave it a small shove with his fingers toward his commander, Optimus picked it up and turned it on and was met with the most recent scan of Jazz and his creation Bluestreak.

"Ratchet what is this all about?" Optimus inquired as he skimmed over the hastily made notes.

"When I ran a scan of both Jazz and Bluestreak this morning, I found some interesting changes that have occurred." The Hummer began to explain "the Allspark shard that was placed inside of our resident Solstice's spark chamber in order to revive him is no longer there."

"What?" Prime demanded as he looked up from the pad.

"I've also noticed that he's sporting new glyphs that closely remsemble the ones that you received after being blasted by the cube and subsquently before Bumblebee's birth." Ratchet replied.

"It's as though the Allspark shard was absorbed but the question is where did it go?" Optimus inquired. Ratchet reached across the desk, tilted the pad his leader was holding down so he could see the screen then shifted the page to reveal the scan he had taken of Bluestreak. The medic watched as his leader's optic ridges rose upwards in surprise before their gazes met "Ratchet were these results double checked?"

"Absolutely." The Hummer responded "originally I thought the Allspark signature Bluestreak was giving off was a side effect from being newly sparked by the shard but the more scans I started taking of him, the more I came to realise that the residual energy would have worn off by now."

"Do you mean to tell me . . . ." Optimus found himself unable to finish his sentence.

"The Allspark shard was absorbed by the sparkling's spark." Ratchet replied "I'm not sure whether its actually imbued Bluestreak with any of its qualities but then the infant is only an Earth week old."

"Renascentia."

"Sir?" The CMO inquired.

"It's the human's word in latin for rebirth, it translates very closely in our own language." Optimus replied as he handed the pad back to the medic "have you informed Prowl and Jazz?"

Ratchet took the data-pad from his leader "No not yet."

"Good I want it to remain that way for now." Prime told him as he sat back in his seat.

"Is that really wise?" The Hummer asked with a frown upon his facial plates.

"They have enough to concern themselves with, without adding this to the fray as well." The Semi Peterbuilt replied "that and if the information is overheard by the wrong individuals, this delicate piece of information on Bluestreak could fall into the wrong hands and I will not allowl any harm to come to the infant."

"Understood." Ratchet pushed himself out of his seat and was about to leave when he heard Prime speak up again.

"Have they chosen a guardian at all?" He inquired.

A smile appeared upon the Hummer's lip components "They have, well actually Jazz decided without Prowl's input but it seems they have come to an agreement on the individuals, which was something I did not expect." Optimus looked at him inquisitively "they decided upon the twins of all mechs."

Prime looked somewhat surprised at that statement but his expression quickly changed "A good choice."

"They also have a favour to ask of you." Ratchet began as he headed toward the door, he turned to face his long time friend "but before you go revising the covenant of Primus, I want you to head off to recharge after you're finished with those last two reports." Optimus glanced at him curiously but the medic refused to say more as he palmed the controls on the side of the door and stepped out into the corridor. The semi Peterbuilt watched him leave before turning back to the last two reports sat awaiting his attention, he was confused as to why he would need to revise the covenant of Primus until it slowly dawned upon him why. Jazz and Prowl wanted their infant to be recognised in the optics of Primus by being 'baptised'. The Prime was tempted to overlook the last two reports and download the old Cybertronian text but thought better of it when he remembered Ratchet's threat about removing him from duty and putting Ironhide in charge. He knew the old weapons master was a good leader but things always tended to get a little chaotic and if Prowl tried to assert his authority even though he was still technically off duty for another week, he could see tempers flaring and holes being made by cannon fire in the walls.

Yet Optimus could not find it in himself to pick up either one of those last two reports, as his CPU was too preoccupied upon the new development regarding Bluestreak. If the sparkling had indeed absorbed the Allspark shard, there was every chance that it could regenerate. If that was the case then the sparkling could be gifted with its powers which made him a neon target to the Decepticons once they discovered his presence, and they would they always did. Prime sighed through his intakes, things regarding the infant Cybertronian were beginning to become much more complicated than he originally thought and now fully understood Prowl's fears. He sat forward in his seat and accessesd the outside communications systems; he decided it was time to contact Defense Secretary Keller about the progress of Delta Gamma so they could make their move before either the humans or the Decepticons did.

* * * * * * * * * *

**Early Evening - Temporary Decepticon base . . . .**

Barricade was truly beginning to hate this planet in its entirety, not only had it been raining none stop all week but a run in with those pit forsaken Autobot twins had put the Mustang out of commission for several days. Which left him in the old hangar waiting for his injuries to heal with Frenzy and Ravage for company, the latter had kept himself to himself and spent most of his time padding around the perimeter of the large space just to work out the kinks in his limbs. Whilst the former was beginning to slowly drive him up the proverbial wall, the police interceptor knew the small hacker was bored not too mention restless and of course when Frenzy got bored everyone suffered from his antics to get attention. Barricade had booted the small silver boom box out of the hangar at one point and slid the door shut to prevent him from entering again but the little glitch quickly found a ventilation duct and managed to make his way back inside. The Mustang was grateful at the moment that Frenzy was currently hacking the human's Government files for any new possible locations that the EDF (earth defense force) might have taken refuge in, the team that had been tracking and keeping an optic on were no longer in the Nevada Desert at the place designated as Area 51. Barricade was sure they had not tipped off the humans since if they had, they surely would have been captured.

But for the moment he had other things preoccupying his mind, his little brother had been different lately, that very much he could tell as he probed the bond between them without alerting the Autobot's tactician to his intentions. He had tried to connect to the sparkling through the bond but he found it exceptionally difficult to do so without alerting either one of the two progenitors to his presence so he had not bothered. That was until recently when the Mustang opened the bond between him and Prowl and discovered that his brother's mood had changed significantly, he had racked his CPU for a reason why until he finally realised; the sparkling was now with them in the physical world. Barricade resisted the urge to face palm when he almost forgot about that little fact, of course his brother's glitch head of a bond-mate had been with sparkling the last time he had encountered them, although he had been hopeful that the injuries he had inflicted upon the Solstice were enough to kill the infant but obviously they weren't.

Barricade knew now that with the sparkling living in the material world, he/she would be passed off to caretakers who would be much clumsier in looking after the infant's wellbeing than its creators, and therefore make it an easier target to eliminate or capture. A sudden surge of protectiveness bloomed across his neural net at the thought of the sparkling being harmed in any way, and the Mustang growled in frustration at the unwanted emotion. The infant was now his enemy since he had been sparked an Autobot, and therefore he should not be feeling any sort of concern for its well being.

'_Yes but he is family_.' A small part of his original self at the back of his mind told him. Barricade grumbled to himself in Cybertronian, now his own thought processes were trying to reason with him, that what he was feeling was natural. The Mustang was pulled out of his thoughts when he heard the familiar roar of a jet engine and quickly managed to school his facial plates into a neutral expression, he glanced toward the entrance to see Skywarp duck under the entrance and proceed into the hangar dripping water as he went.

"Slaggin' planet, been here nearly two Earth months now and I fraggin' hate it." The seeker grumbled. Barricade smiled at that, least he wasn't the only one who hated this back water planet then.

"Did you manage to get a signal through to Starscream?" The shock trooper inquired as he rested his right forearm upon his knee.

"Yea after making it through dozens of cloud layer and nearly gettin' zapped by a bolt of lightnin', can still feel it tinglin' in my circuits." Skywarp replied.

"And?" Barricade prompted.

"He said that they're chasing up an Autobot signal on this systems fourth planet." The seeker responded "he also said that it could take up to 4 orns depending upon the level of threat, and they've decided to abandon the Nemesis."

The black and white Mustang raised a single optic ridge at that "Not like Starscream to abandon ship."

Skywarp flicked some water off his left arm in Ravage's direction "Unless one of those fraggin' Autobots they're pursuing sabotaged the ship." The felinoid hissed at his comrade and moved to settle in a new dry location.

"Well I suppose Lord Starscream will be pleased to hear the information I have for him after his tedious journey here." Barricade said as he cast a glance in Frenzy's direction to find the spastic little scraplet was sat on his aft examining something he had discovered lying around whilst making curious noises as he poked and prodded it.

"Oh?" The black and purple seeker inquired, his curiousity peeked.

"Another Autobot has joined the Earth team and very recently." The shock trooper replied.

Skywarp frowned at his team mate "Nice lie but that's not true, no Autoscum has appeared on Earth after that glitch Skyfire."

Barricade knew if he had been capable of rolling his optics he would have done so "I'm talking about a sparkling."

The F-22 Raptor burst out laughing and the Mustang frowned not sure why his team mate was laughing "Nice one 'Cade, a sparkling." Barricade growled in annoyance.

"Frenzy front and centre." The black and white mech snapped at the small hacker, Frenzy however continued to study the strange object he held in his hand until it popped out of its top container and dropped onto the floor "Frenzy!" The silver mech swivelled his head in Barricade's direction before bounding across.

"Bar-ricade?" The hacker asked.

"Show slag for brains what you discovered after infiltrating the Autobot base." The Mustang replied, Frenzy scuttled across the floor, trampled over Ravage and raced to the single screen they had in the hangar. The small silver mech jacked into a port he found and a medical file came up on the screen, Skywarp stepped forward to scrutinise it closely before his optic ridges rose upwards in surprise "see it was no lie."

The black and purple seeker turned to face his comrade who had painfully picked himself up from the floor and made his way over "Starscream is going to hand your aft to you royally when he arrives for with holding information from him."

Barricade sneered at that "Our so called leader will be too busy going over the other piece of Intel. we also have for him."

"How exactly?" Skywarp inquired.

"Frenzy and I know the location of Lord Megatron." The Mustang replied. The hangar fell incredibly silent as the information was processed by the black and purple seeker who at first didn't want to believe Barricade but since the black and white had been right on his first piece of information, Skywarp debated with himself whether to believe him this time "of course the humans who were holding him now have changed their location but it will not take Frenzy long to track them down."

"Now I understand why we asked to locate any possible Allspark energy signatures." The seeker said "in hopes of restoring Lord Megatron."

"Now you're beginning to understand." Barricade replied "and if I'm right about the Autobot sparkling as well, our long term enemies days are also numbered." The shock trooper knew that not every Decepticon had been blinded by Starscream's ambitions and that there were still loyal members who wanted to restore their righful leader. Barricade smiled as he proceeded to the other side of the room and slipped down into a crouch, he looked forward to alerting the others to the news he had and the expression of fear upon Starscream's facial plates once he realised his days of leading the Decepticons was over.

* * * * * * * * * *

**A/N:** Took me long enough, sorry about that. I can't guarantee when the next update will be but a friend of mine has offered to fix my laptop so hopefully it shouldn't be too long *crosses fingers*

Anyway read and Review!


	11. Loss

Thanks to everyone who reviewed, added it to their favourites and alerts. You guys are awesome. I would have updated this fic sooner, but real life has been busy and I've not had the chance to write as much as I want too plus the mother of all writer's block. I knew where the chapter was going but could I put it down in words? That and I had no laptop but I've got Artemis back and in working order. Will this mean faster updates? Probably not but I hope it will. There will also be tie ins from the new movie and just to warn those who have not yet seen it, there are spoilers ahead too. I've also gone back and re-edited all of my chapters. Yep I've done it again and changed some of them and added new bits in.

**Warnings: **Profanities, angst and mentions of character death. **Contains spoilers for ROTF**

**Disclaimer**: Not mine, I just toy with with them and hand them back in less than pristine condition.

_'Blah' – thoughts_

_**::Blah:: - Radio Communication**_

_:/blah\: - Inter. comm._

_**:://Blah\\:: Bond communication**_

* * * * * * * * * *

**A week later . . . .**

Barricade couldn't decide whether being out of their temporary base was a good thing or a bad thing. Good thing because it got him away from the madness that had ensured. Frenzy had gotten bored and had taken to tormenting Ravage, who was none too happy about being called a pussy cat and treated like one or having the hacker riding around upon his back. Skywarp hadn't been any better, the moron had gotten himself slagged by the Autobot's weapon specialist Ironhide and his tangle of humans when he had flown too closely to their base. Barricade had tried to warn him, but the Raptor thought he knew better and decided to tempt fate anyway.

"Fraggin' glitch head." The shock trooper grumbled to himself as he sped down the highway. Their small group had received word just recently that other Decepticons would be making planet fall shortly, as to who was coming? Well he had no fragging idea nor did he care either. The Ford Mustang sped up, changed gear and overtook a family carrier, he sneered inwardly when he noticed the two young flesh bags in the back straining against their seat belts and excitedly pointing fingers at him. Oh if only they knew that it would only take but just a split second to end their short miserable lives. The Decepticon scout continued down the highway taking little notice to the few drivers who were sharing the road with him, although he did take special glee in when he saw a couple stiffen at seeing his presence and even slow down slightly. In fact he was so preoccupied frightening a group of young lads in a small car that had been illegally modified, that the sudden pain in his spark caught him completely unaware. His whole system fritzed for a few seconds making him fishtail dangerously upon the road, but luckily enough he was able to clear his processors and regain control. Barricade pulled away from the small sports car and shot off for the small underpass that would lead him directly back into the town, he didn't care whether he was breaking any of the speed limits and quickly switched on his lights and siren to make it look like he was responding to a call.

He quickly noticed as he sped toward the tunnel that it was at the moment barricaded off to prevent motorists from using it, traffic cones and plastic barriers diverted traffic away from the passageway and onto another road that would take them near enough on the same route back to the city. The shock trooper transformed into his bipedal mode and stepped over the barriers and cones making his way into the underpass, it seemed that the humans were doing some maintenance work upon the road, but at the moment Barricade saw it as a small refuge so he could sort out the conflicted emotions running rampant through his CPU.

The shock trooper opened up his end of the bond only to clutch his chest plates at the raw agony he could feel, the only other time he had felt this was when his creator's had been terminated during the war. He searched along the sibling bond he had with brothers only to be met with a chasm where Smokescreen's presence should have been, he frowned at that despite the fact he had never given any of his brothers a second thought when they fought upon the battle field. He felt angry at the fact that he had not been the one to terminate his older sibling, he knew that whoever had killed his brother would have drawn out his death slowly and painfully unlike the quick one Barricade had promised them many a time when they had clashed. The shock trooper cursed himself for feeling the way that he did, he was an assassin, cold and ruthless yet he was acting like one of those pathetic Autobots. He sank deeper into the bond as he knew he was safe for the moment, and immediately came into contact with his little brother's thoughts. Prowl despite being cold, hard logic and unemotional 97% of the time, was allowing an assortment of emotions to run rampant through his processor. But the most prominent one was that Prowl intended to make whoever had killed Smokescreen pay for his death with their own life.

The Mustang felt another presence latch onto the bond and quickly recognised it as the Dodge Charger's bond-mate, Barricade closed the bond as fast as he could in order to make sure Jazz hadn't detected his presence before turning his attention to the here and now. His blood red optics stared out at the cold grey sky that threatened to bring rain once again whilst a nippy wind brushed against his plating. The shock trooper decided that he would make the Decepticon who had killed his brother pay, Megatron had decreed before his untimely termination that the Mustang's brothers were not to be touched, that Barricade had the sole pleasure of ripping their sparks out. But there had been Decepticons such as Starscream who believed that the shock trooper would be incapable of terminating his siblings should it come down to it, that Barricade was all bark and no bite. Well the Mustang would have to show the smug seeker a thing or two once he returned to Earth, he was sure a few of the others would relish in the chance to pick at Starscream's poor leadership skills.

Barricade was drawn out of his thoughts when he heard someone pinging his comm. link and knew exactly who it would be "What do you want?"

_**:: Wow what's your problem? Did something crawl up your tailpipe and die?:: **_Skywarp asked over their comm. link, Barricade simply growled to himself, he was not in the mood for the seeker's obnoxious.

"What do you want?" The Mustang demanded through clenched dental plates.

_**::Jeez you're worse than Starscream.::**_ The black and purple Raptor told the shock trooper, metal squealed when Barricade clenched his fists _**:: Alright impatient one, thought I'd let you know that Frenzy's found somethin' of importance regardin' those humans you were trackin'.:: **_

"He's found them?" The shock trooper inquired, keeping the surprise out of the tone of his voice. He and Frenzy had been tracking the large group of humans who called themselves the Earth Defence Force until one day they had simply vanished, the pair of them had even gone back to Area 51 in order to look for clues but the special forces base was not left unoccupied for long. They had trawled through the internet going over the old Sector Seven sites that may have resumed operations, but there was nothing.

_**:: Yes apparently somewhere you should have looked in the first place.:: **_Skywarp replied, although Barricade couldn't help but hear the sneer in the Raptor's voice.

"Very well I'm on my way back to the base." The shock trooper told him before closing the comm. link, he glanced out of the entrance to the tunnel in order to make sure there were no humans around. Satisfied there were no flesh bags around, Barricade stepped out into the rain and transformed into his vehicle mode. He drove back up the road and swung back onto the highway, it was about time they had a new lead upon the ex-sector seven individuals who were in possession of their deceased leader's body. A little factor that he knew would not save their lives especially if their scientists had decided to dissect the Decepticon tyrant in hopes to find any advantages against them. The humans were resourceful and would eventually find some sort of weapon (besides the sabot rounds) to use against them, the Mustang was now beginning to understand why the Autobots had allied with them. But the organics were easily killed and lived short insignificant lives, that and they themselves were hell bent on destroying themselves anyway. Barricade wondered whether it would be worth pushing them in that direction to rid them from this planet without so much as lifting a finger? Either way he did not care, their time on this planet was coming to an end, it was just a matter of when.

* * * * * * * * * *

**Tranquillity base . . . .**

The recreation room was generally full of activity whether it was human or Autobot, but today it seemed rather quiet, well quiet as it could get with six Autobots and two humans. Three of the resident Autobots were sat in one set of couches overlooking a flat screen monitor positioned upon the centre coffee table, whilst Sam and Mikaela were sat upon the scout's knees so they had a perfect view of what was on the small monitor. Upon the brightly lit screen was some magnificent footage taken by Skyfire, of humpback whales breaching the water. Originally Hound had first asked to see it and the scientist had been more than willing to show the tracker what he had seen over the North Atlantic ocean, Mirage had been with his bond-mate at the time of the request and didn't mind seeing the footage.

Then Bumblebee had stepped in the room with his two human charges, and although Mikaela was more interested in taking apart cars and motorcycles then putting them back together, enjoyed seeing the large mammals of their seas breaching the blue waters in short aerial acrobatics, typical of their species.

Sideswipe in the mean time held no interest in the whales and choose to sprawl out on one of the other couches, with game pad in hand and favourite game in the console. There had been no stipulations as to when games of the bloody calibre were to be played, but the twins figured it wouldn't be long especially since the youngest and newest member of their group was becoming increasingly aware of his surroundings as time went on. The sparkling in question had already found his feet and hands and would lay there on his back for minutes at a time just staring at them, and then trying to stick them in his mouth sometimes at the same time. Bluestreak also had picked up the habit of just staring at the mechs and femme, deciding on whether he liked them or not. Luckily so far the infant had not cried on any of his caretakers except for when he was hungry or downright restless and couldn't slip into recharge. Which was exactly where the sparkling was now; in recharge. The red Lamborghini glanced over in the direction where the set of individual chairs were set up whilst his next mission was loading up, to see Jazz nestled quite comfortably in the chair with Bluestreak settled in his lap. The saboteur was not always in full progenitor mode all the time for which the twins were grateful for, they were concerned that parenthood would suck all the fun and rebelliousness out of the silver mech. But a successfully pulled prank against Ironhide the other day proved other wise.

The head of special ops at this current moment in time, was going over some of the reports regarding his division now that Ratchet had cleared him for light duty. Mirage had seemed relieved when he had stepped into the ops control centre, he had resumed some of his duties before heading off to Prowl's office in order to retrieve Bluestreak. The bonded pair had decided upon sharing the duty of looking after the sparkling during the day so it wasn't so overwhelming for one creator, sometimes they didn't have to share the duty as one of the others would approach them and ask about looking after the infant. Even Optimus had managed to squeeze in a few hours watching over Bluestreak during his busy schedule, which had resulted in a few funny moments. One that stuck in everyone's minds the most had been when the Autobot leader was addressing the secretary of defence through video communication with an none too complacent Bluestreak up on his left shoulder. Major Lennox and his team had been in fits of hysterics at the comical sight of the sparkling 'telling' the Autobot leader off, and finding themselves unable to answer Keller's and General Morshower's questions. Ironhide, after reining in his own laughter, rescued his leader by taking away the loudly twittering sparkling from a rather flustered Optimus. Prowl had apologised for his offspring's behaviour after he and Jazz had found out, whilst the saboteur was more interested in obtaining blackmail material from the weapons specialist.

That had been a few days ago and both Jazz and Prowl had witnessed their creation throwing a temper tantrum just like the one he had, had with Optimus, the tactician had immediately pinned the Solstice with a look that intended to blame him for the volatile temperament in the infant. The saboteur had simply shrugged his shoulders and rescued Bumblebee from the screaming sparkling, however the incident hadn't deterred the scout in the least. Well it did at first until Ironhide had explained to him that he too had been a bratty sparkling and would sometimes end up throwing tantrums that had the young bots running to find cover, but he had never had them on that scale though.

So it had come as a relief to the Autobots and humans of the base, that Bluestreak had been in a rather complacent mood all day and was deep in recharge. However they knew the peace wouldn't last for long as Jazz would wake him up for his feed considering what the alternative was, that and the Solstice didn't really fancy going without a full recharge cycle. The pair had only done it once and learned quickly it was not the best of things to do, they had left the infant to recharge, but they soon discovered that by doing so meant their creation would be a handful for them during the night. So now they woke the little grey infant up at the designated times during the day (unless of course he was already on-line, then he would more than let them know), but this time it didn't require the silver mech to wake him up.

Jazz had been reading one of the latest reports from the special ops division when he felt a faint echo of pain in his spark, he gave a small gasp as he dropped the data-pad he had been holding and clutched at his chest plates. The pain intensified for a brief moment before fading completely leaving him confused. The Solstice instantly searched along the bond he shared with Prowl and felt a range of emotions coming from his mate.

_**::// Prowl?\\::**_ He called but there was no response _**::// Prowl love talk ta me?\\:: **_Still there was no reply and the saboteur began to worry about what had befallen his mate, he was about to comm. the control room and ask the personnel on duty if Prowl was alright. However Bluestreak quickly diverted his attention as the sparkling on-lined, upset and confused, began to cry. Jazz scooped him out of his lap and cradled him close, he sent out reassuring and comforting pulses of spark energy to his offspring in order to soothe him. The Solstice then tried again in order to contact his bond-mate but it resulted in the same; silence. His concern for his mate was beginning to mount so he decided to go and find Prowl immediately, he had contemplated to leave Bluestreak with one of his caretakers but with the way he was wailing at the top of his intakes, quickly changed his mind. The silver mech pushed the reports to one side in an unceremonious heap and shoved himself off the couch and left the room, more than aware that the others watched him go with concerned looks upon their faces.

Jazz made his way through the corridors up to the control room, cooing to his sparkling and bouncing the wailing infant on his arms. The humans he passed gave him a wide berth, either ignoring him completely or shooting him worried looks as Bluestreak's wails had not lessened in the slightest, and the Solstice was at a loss of what to do. The silver mech's sensitive audio receptors managed to make out the murmuring of voices from the other side of the control room doors before he stepped inside, however he was not prepared for what he would see. The humans sharing the duty roster with the Autobots were either still seated in their seats or standing on the opposite side of the large room, but the one thing they did have in common was the worried glances they were shooting the three mechs across the room. Jazz met Sunstreaker's gaze before the gold twin began moving toward him, the front-liner then shifted his gaze to the wailing sparkling before glancing back at the saboteur.

"Do you want me to . . .?" Sunstreaker began to ask. The Solstice knew what the gold Lamborghini was asking and shifted Bluestreak in order for the front-liner to take him. The sparkling flailed as he was handed over and his cries intensified for a brief moment, but they quickly turned into unhappy whimpers as the gold Lamborghini tucked the little grey infant up on his shoulder and started making soothing noises to him. A brief smile made its way onto the saboteur's lip components, he was still finding it a little strange how his creation changed the way the twins acted when he was in their presence.

But none the less turned his attention to his bond-mate and quickly made his way over. The Solstice knelt before the black and white mech, he gently gripped his mate's helm in order for Prowl to look at him, but all he was met with was unseeing optics. Jazz's optic ridges furrowed into a concerned frown.

"What happened?" The silver mech inquired as he pushed past the barriers his mate had set up to protect him and their offspring, only to be met with grief. On instinct Jazz sent as much love, comfort and reassurance to his mate as he possibly could, which also in turn began to settle his unhappy sparkling.

"Prowl has good reason to believe that a team led by Smokescreen has just been terminated." Optimus responded, the saboteur glanced at their leader in disbelief before turning his gaze back on his bond-mate "I've already asked Skyfire to head back to the Ark and perform a sensor sweep to determine their last co-ordinates." The Prime knew that the old flyer would have to make it to the transport ship quickly before the deceased team's ion trails dissipated completely, however he knew it wouldn't be a problem as Skyfire was fitted with his own transwarp technology.

Jazz smoothed his thumbs over the Dodge Charger's cheek ridges in a soothing matter, he also prodded at his mate's consciousness in order to gain his attention _**::// Come on Prowl, I know ya there love.\\::**_

_**::// Jazz?\\::**_ Came a quiet inquiry before the grief hit him hard _**::// Jazz it hurts.\\::**_

_**::// I know love, I know.\\::**_ The saboteur responded as he continued to soothe his mate's inner turmoil's caused by the loss of a sibling. And truly he did, as he too knew what it had felt like to lose someone close. There was no denying the agonizing pain of having part of one's spark torn away brutally and the gaping hole that had originally been their presence. The silver mech soothed the pain Prowl was feeling as much as could before he felt the faint and brief touch of another mind. He was completely surprised by the contact, but as quickly as it occurred it retreated leaving Jazz fumbling for an answer.

The Solstice's answer however came in his mate's next words _**::// Barricade is also feeling the loss as acutely as my own.\\::**_

_**::// Prowl I'm so sorry.\\:: **_Jazz replied _**::// we better let the boss bot know your ok, he's lookin' a little worried. That an' I'm sure ya son wants ta know your ok too.\\::**_ Outside of the bond, Jazz saw a small smile twitch the corner of his lover's lip components before he pushed himself up fully. The Solstice made his way over to Sunstreaker and the gold Lamborghini instantly handed over Bluestreak who was nearly in recharge, the silver mech thanked the front-liner for managing to calm the sparkling the down before making his way back to Prowl's side. The little grey infant began cooing at his spark carrier but his attention quickly turned to his sire, the Dodge Charger smiled down at his creation as his mate handed Bluestreak to him. He instantly felt the small infant latch onto the bond between them and project thoughts of love and affection just like his carrier was doing.

"Prowl I believe it would be best to remove you from active service until a mourning ceremony can be conducted for those who have fallen." Optimus suggested as he glanced at the small family, he watched as the little grey sparkling in the Dodge Charger's arms continued to click and coo in an attempt to keep his father's mood from slipping.

"I understand Sir." The tactician replied, and truly he did as he knew he would be of no use to the unit if he could not think straight. Prowl pushed himself to his feet somewhat unsteadily, he felt Jazz gently touch his elbow and gaze at him with a small sad smile.

"Jazz I think its best if you and Prowl returned to quarters." The semi Peter built said as he watched his 2IC's entire posture sag, the Solstice nodded before leading his bond-mate out of the control room and into the hallway. Jazz continued to project love and comfort to his bonded as they headed to quarters, the saboteur had hoped that he would never see the day when Prowl would lose what was left of his family, he had seen what losing the tactician's creators had done when Praxus had been destroyed. And now he was seeing the same thing happening all over again.

The walk to their quarters was quiet with hardly any words spoken verbally or through their bond, even Bluestreak had fallen silent as he lay there in his sire's arms. Bright baby blue optics and the quiet humming of his systems were the only signs that he was on-line. In fact the steady beating of Prowl's fuel pump was slowly lulling the infant Cybertronian into recharge, something Jazz had found quite fascinating about their creation. Bluestreak despite his young age was able to some degree recognise the individual who was holding him, by the beating of their fuel pump and the pulsing of their spark, although when it came to the twins it was just that little harder since they both operated nearly on the same wavelength as each other. However the Solstice did notice how Bluestreak was rather noisy when being held by Sideswipe, but much quieter on Sunstreaker, which probably meant that despite the twins being different in appearance, the little grey sparkling could discern between the two of them.

The doors to their quarters came into view and the saboteur stepped out from beside his bond-mate in order to unlock the door, the doors whooshed open revealing the dark room within that soon brightened once Jazz located the light switch. The Solstice watched as the Dodge Charger stepped across the living space and entered the room on the left side, whilst he crossed the room and sat down upon the couch. He could feel that Prowl was barely holding it together for the sake of their sparkling, and he knew that he would have to protect Bluestreak from the torrent of emotions that would bombard his immature processor when the tactician could no longer hold together and truly showed how he felt about his older brother's passing. Jazz leant back curling one leg beneath his bulk before sensitive audio receptors picked up the faintest sounds of movement, he glanced across to the entrance of the room Prowl had stepped into to see his mate make his way out. The saboteur offered him another small smile then patted the couch beside him, the black and white mech made his way over and Jazz could now see how his lover's door wings, all four of them, were visibly trembling. The military strategist sat beside him, gaze fixed upon the wall opposite him.

"I . . ." Was the only word Prowl was able to get out before cold hard logic abandoned him and left him vulnerable, Jazz pushed himself up and wrapped his arms about his bond-mate's shoulders and pulled him close to him.

"I know." The Solstice responded as he soothed the turmoil and pain his mate's spark was feeling, he also kept checking the fortified block he had set in place in order to ensure Bluestreak was left unaffected by the conflicting signals his father's spark was giving at the moment. Jazz leant back against the couch drawing Prowl back with him, the silver mech drew clawed fingers down the back of the tactician's helm in soothing motions as he began humming in order to soothe his mate's inner turmoil's. The Solstice rested his chin upon the top most of the black and white's helm as his other hand brushed against his mate's upper back just above the joints for the door wings, wandering how many more would be claimed in this never ending war.

* * * * * * * * * *

**Several days later . . . . **

The NEST base in Tranquillity was eerily quiet save for the rain drumming upon the corrugated iron of the hangar's roof, a chilly November wind caressed none to gently against any exposed skin. The dismal weather easily reflected the mood of the Tranquillity base at the moment, especially after the Earth based team received some rather disheartening news involving a team of five who had almost made it to Earth. The oldest of the Autobots Skyfire had been sent to the Ark in order to use the old transports sensors and trace the now deceased team's ion trails, it had taken a few days to locate the dissipating trails but the old seeker had found them none the less and tracked them to Mars. Where upon landing Skyfire had discovered the remains of the five dead Autobots and buried them as per Optimus' orders. It had brought some closure to those who had known the mechs but it still left a gap in one's spark especially if they had been family, Optimus had given his unit time to mourn their passing but once the mourning ceremony had been conducted, they would have to move on as they could not allow any weakness in their defences.

During his time, Will Lennox had seen his own fair few deaths out on the battlefield and attended many service funerals of comrades. He had almost attended the funeral of an Autobot ally over four years ago, had Jazz not been snatched back from the matrix after an accident involving the Allspark shard. The Major had originally turned down the offer of attending the ceremony believing their giant alien friends needed to mourn their lost comrades without human interference, but the more he thought about it the more he came to realise that it would be best if he and a select few did, if only to show their respect. Lennox glanced round the large iron hangar and at those assembled, most of the Autobots were huddled together with murmurs of conversation in Cybertronian filtering back and forth between them. In some respects Will wished that their alien allies could teach them their language but the complicated series of beeps, whistles, integrated words and the speed they were spoken in would be too hard for their brains to comprehend, although the Cybertronian cuss words were easy to discern and repeat. A particularly loud warble drew the Major's attention in the direction Ironhide was currently walking back and forth in with a certain little grey sparkling up high on his shoulder. Bluestreak was making enough noise to wake the dead, figuratively, however the multitude of whistles, clicks, beeps and warbles were not distressed noises in the slightest but rather inquisitive instead. And the little wing extensions upon his back were fluttering at any bot who passed near the weapons specialist before they would change back to gently waving back and forth when he saw a human.

"Olé 'Hide would make a good creator, once he makes th' time to settle down with someone." Came a voice from behind Lennox, the human Major turned and glanced up to see the familiar bipedal form of the resident saboteur. Will knew that either Prowl or Jazz wouldn't be that far away from their creation even though they trusted each of their comrades explicitly.

"Gotta hand it to the big guy, he seems to know exactly what to do." Will replied as he watched the weapons specialist rub little soothing circles upon Bluestreak's back when the sparkling started to shift restlessly upon his shoulder "I mean I struggled the first few months trying to integrate Annabel into my life but I soon caught on, where as you guys the paternal instinct seems to be there already."

"Ta be honest I was scared but I think Prowler was more afraid than I was." Jazz said as he gaze fell upon a familiar white and black frame entering the room, he gave his bond-mate a small smile.

"Yea I can understand that." The Major replied as he continued to watch the weapons specialist juggle with the restless Cybertronian infant until it seemed Ironhide had, had enough. Will gently tapped against the silver armour closest to him in order to get the saboteur's attention "I take back what I said, looks like old Ironhide doesn't know everything."

"Actually Major I'm returning him to his carrier coz the little fragger purged on me." Ironhide said as he plopped Bluestreak in the Solstice's arms, the little grey infant twittered at the weapons specialist before turning his attention to his parent. The GMC Top kick truck muttered something in Cybertronian under his breath before stomping out of the room, on the way out he passed the twins who quickly gave him a wide berth and entered the room.

It wasn't long before Optimus stepped in the room carrying a data slate in front of him, the pad was near enough the same size as a 42 inch flat screen television. The room suddenly quiet as the Autobots watched their leader place the slate upon the concrete floor before he stepped away. Optimus glanced around at the assembled although his optics did linger upon Prowl who met his gaze with a cold and emotionless expression, no doubt the tactician refused to show any emotion until he was in quarters alone with his bond-mate. Prime soon shifted his gaze to Jazz as the silver mech clutched his young offspring close to his chest plates whilst he hummed to a restless Bluestreak, a small smile wanted to tug at the corners of his lip components as he watched the little grey infant fight a losing battle to remain awake, a gentle lull of magnetics over the sparkling's helm was all that it took to put him in recharge. The semi Peter built envied the Dodge Charger a little bit for pairing up with a bot who had magnetic capabilities since well placed pulses of magnetism could send one soaring into overload in seconds, but the abilities did make them more lethal in battle if seeing Jazz tear apart a Decepticon without even touching him was to go by.

It wasn't long before Ironhide returned looking much cleaner and not smelling like a sparkling had just purged on him which enabled the small ceremony to finally get under way. Optimus stepped round the other side of the device upon the floor where he knelt and touched one of the controls upon its beautifully decorated surface, it had definitely seen some usage as most of the controls were tarnished whilst others looked slightly worn. Suddenly the lights dimmed which had the humans on alert but when their alien friends didn't move to draw their weapons, they realised it had been done for a reason. The group of NEST soldiers and Sam and Mikaela watched as the strange device flared to light, streams of light shot up from the screen and hovered in the air above it before they swirled round to create a swirling galaxy of what they presumed were names of deceased Autobots.

Lennox glanced over his shoulder when he heard movement to see their alien friends form a long line and stand to attention, each of their expressions solemn. Will gave a small command to his own men and each of their soldiers stood to attention with their hands clasped behind their backs, feet shoulder width apart. Both Sam and Mikaela mimicked their actions despite just being civilians.

Optimus gave a small smile to the humans before turning his attention to his fellow Cybertronians, he scanned each of their faces intently. They were all waiting for him to begin the small service that would allow the five deceased Autobots to journey safely to the Matrix with their prayers. The Prime pulled himself up fully as his optics fell upon the galaxy spiral of a thousand good Autobot soldiers, friends, and loved ones, he felt his spark give a painful clench at all thought of all those who had been terminated during the long war. And now he had no choice but to add five more to the beautiful but sad memorial he had in front of him.

The semi Peter-built also stood to attention and drew air into his intakes to calm himself before starting the small speech that was usually part of a much larger ceremony "We are gathered here today to mourn the passing of great comrades, of trusted friends and allies . . . . of family." With those last words he glanced at Prowl who simply stared past him, refusing to show his commander that he was about to cave. Optimus shifted his gaze away from his 2IC to glance at each of his fellow Autobots "we honour their courage, their bravery, and their passion in the long fight against the Decepticons." The almost impenetrable silence was disturbed by one of the humans shifting, but no reprimand was given or a look glanced in the offender's location. However another uncomfortable shuffle drew the Prime's attention to Mikaela who attempted to hide a grimace, he would never understand why the human females would torture themselves by wearing uncomfortable shoes. He watched as he delivered the next sentence as she slipped out of her shoes and pushed them aside with her left foot "we are here to honour their memories and to pray that their next journey to the well of Allsparks is a safe and perilous one." The semi Peter built's attention was drawn in Jazz's direction when Bluestreak made a small distressed sound, but the sparkling didn't wake "we pray that the five sparks which have left the material world all too soon are judged fairly, and allowed to enter the sanctity of Primus' open arms."

Optimus shifted upon his pedes slightly as his gaze fixed upon the swirl of designations before him "We will remember those that have fallen by adding their names to this memorial so that we and future generations will never forget them." His dark blue optics settled upon the five mechs stood next to one another whom had agreed to show their respect by adding their comrades designations to the swirling array. The Prime drew himself up fully as his gaze fell upon Bumblebee.

The humans were suddenly surprised when one of their alien comrades began to sing, they all instantly recognised it to be Jazz as no-one could mistaken the smooth tenor as anyone else's. They had heard the saboteur singing from time to time, sometimes just to annoy his comrades since he knew how much it irritated them, but the song currently leaving the silver mech's vocaliser was anything but cheery. In fact the low mournful tones were enough to break some of the hardest façades of the most seasoned warriors, but they still didn't quite show how this whole thing was affecting them. A small sad smile twitched the corner of Prime's lip components, although it could barely be seen. It was not unusual for Jazz to sing during this part of the service since none of the others felt brave enough to do it themselves.

"We honour Cliffjumper." Optimus spoke up the moment the Solstice shifted into the chorus, his vocals strong and never breaking. Bumblebee stepped forward toward the display, his blue optics focused upon the holographic memorial lazily swirling around whilst his door wings drooped on his back. He had only done this once before for another comrade, but this one stung a little deeper since he had known Cliffjumper for most of his life (like most of the others who had, had a part in raising him) and they had gotten to know each other quite well despite the differences in their personalities. The Camaro knelt before the small intricate pad and reached for the small keypad at the bottom, he shuttered his optics for a brief moment wishing that all of this wasn't real, the scout opened his optics and vented a sigh as he typed the Cliffjumper's name into the pad. Bumblebee shuffled back slightly before laying an arm across his chest and bowing his head, the designation he had typed disintegrated upon the pad and swirled up onto the holographic display before adding itself to one of the many strands, the scout uttered a few words in Cybertronian followed by his comrades issuing a single word that signalled the close to the Camaro's prayer.

The same was conducted for Air Raid, Camshaft and Cosmos, each mech's designations written upon the pad and allowed to join the great swirl of names of mechs and femmes whom had died in battle. Optimus watched as Sideswipe, Hound and Mirage added their comrades names to the memorial despite having nothing in common with them, but Prime surmised that it was more out of respect than anything.

The semi Peter built waited for the blue and white Ford GT to retake his place before building up courage for the last to be announced, he drew himself up fully again once he realised he was slouching and flexed his arms slightly "And last but not forgotten, we honour Smokescreen." Prime took note as the words leaving Jazz's vocaliser changed to a more soothing tone as the silver mech's bonded stepped toward the display. The large red and blue mech watched his 2IC closely as he knew it couldn't be easy adding a family member's designation to the memorial, he was concerned that it might be all too much for him and the tactician's logic circuits would freeze up. Optimus suspected Prowl was drawing his strength and courage from his bond-mate as the black and white dropped onto one knee albeit a little less gracefully than the others.

There was a moment of hesitation before the tactician reached out for the keypad and typed his oldest brother's designation upon the screen, he vented a sigh out of his intakes as he placed one arm across his chest, single fist clutched tightly against shoulder plating. He shuttered his optics as he delivered the passage refusing to watch as his sibling's name disintegrated upon the keypad and travelled up toward the large spiral, it like the others before it always attached itself to one of the many strands where it reappeared whole. The Dodge Charger un-shuttered his optics and glanced up to see Smokescreen's designation disappear into the sea of names before he pushed himself up fully and stepped backwards to where he had been standing. He immediately felt Jazz's presence through the bond, both calming and soothing, Prowl offered his bonded a small smile just to reassure him he was fine, although he knew the Solstice couldn't help but be a little suspicious towards him. The black and white mech turned to face the front as Optimus delivered his final words to those assembled and knelt before the memorial offering his own prayer, the song the silver mech had been singing came to its end before Jazz lead his comrades into the first verse of the closing prayer.

The humans found they were able to join in this time, as the saboteur translated the ancient Cybertronian prayer into their native tongue. It wasn't long in the slightest and ended as quickly as it had started, and the hangar quickly felt silent. Optimus reached forward and pressed a singular control upon the side of the flat screen pad and the swirling galaxy of names flickered a couple of times before disappearing completely, the Prime picked the delicate looking instrument off the floor with both hands then turned to face those across from him. He quickly thanked them all as the lights were raised to normal levels, his fellow Autobots all stood to attention at his words then watched as their weary leader made his way out of the hangar.

Once the ceremony was over, the group of Autobots and humans dispersed. Many of them returned to their duties whilst others headed off to the weapons range to release pent up anger, naturally Ironhide headed in that direction with Lennox, Epps and a few other NEST soldiers. But this time they weren't alone as the twins followed in their wake providing the cover story that they wanted to get some practise in, however anyone who knew them well, knew differently. A small party of Autobots that included Bumblebee, Mirage, Jazz and Prowl (since the tactician was refused access to his office so he could bury himself in paperwork) headed out of the hangar they had been in and began making their way to the rec. room, both Sam and Mikaela naturally followed the Camaro intending to get a hot drink and maybe find out what the deceased mechs were like. The six of them stepped across the tarmac of the base grounds quickly although Bumblebee soon picked his charges up and settled them close as a brisk cold wind swept across the barren landscape, the sun was currently hidden by some dark clouds that threatened to bring rain but none of them seemed particularly fussed as they would indoors anyway.

The group stepped into the hangar instantly feeling the change in atmosphere and headed down to the recreation room exchanging small conversation between themselves that drifted from one topic to the next. They made their way into the room and noticed a few NEST personnel were taking a break, some of them looked up and either smiled or saluted whilst a couple of others whom were too engrossed in reports in front of them didn't even notice the new company they had. The Autobots headed to the large couches whilst Sam and Mikaela made their way to the human section in order to grab a hot drink before joining their alien friends. As soon as they returned Bumblebee scooped them up gently from the floor and placed them upon the couch only for the two young humans to come face to face with a rather wide awake sparkling perched in his carrier's lap.

"Hey Blue." Mikaela greeted the little grey infant, Bluestreak's baby optics immediately locked onto her and he made a long low whistle at them. The two humans heard Jazz chuckle as he readjusted his right hand which was sat under the sparkling's chin whilst the other gently tapped upon the middle left side of the infant's back, Sam shuffled back slightly intending to make sure he wasn't within grabbing range of Bluestreak since they knew the little Cybertronian had a tendency to grab anything and try and stick it in his mouth. The grey sparkling simply stared at Sam, his sensory panels waving back and forth in small motions, it was the only time the two humans paid witness to Bluestreak being quiet except for when he was in recharge, but even then a click or a beep would escape him. Mikaela continued to watch the sparkling a few minutes more reminding herself of what she wanted to ask earlier, although she was beginning to have second thoughts as she didn't know whether it would be too soon to talk about the deceased.

"Somethin' on ya mind 'Kaela?" The Solstice inquired as he laid the sparkling back against his thigh which prompted a few irritated twitters from the infant, Prowl leaned over the top of his bond-mate and clicked a couple of times to Bluestreak which ceased the twittering, only to replace it with loud clicks, whistles and warbles. Mikaela shifted slightly in her spot next to Bumblebee's thigh as she nervously chewed her bottom lip, but quickly worked up the courage to ask her question regardless of the consequences.

"I was wondering, what were the others like?" She inquired. There was a moment of silence as each of the bots glanced at one another, Mikaela found herself looking at each of their alien allies in turn looking for a reaction. She immediately noticed that Jazz appeared somewhat apprehensive and followed the silver mech's gaze to his bonded sat behind him on the arm of the couch, Mikaela was slowly beginning to regret asking the question when a look of grief flashed across Prowl's facial plates momentarily "I'm sorry if I appear too forward in asking this."

"No you are not being too forward by asking, besides we cannot grieve forever," The tactician told the human female as he glanced across the room, gaze focused upon the middle distance before he returned his attention to the two humans "they have earned their peace, and they will always be in our memories for as long as we shall live." The tactician glanced down at his bond-mate in time to see a small smile make its way onto the Solstice's lip components, the love and comfort flowing through the bond had Bluestreak cooing at his progenitors before he thrust his little arms in the air and began making grabbing motions with his hands toward his father. Prowl immediately obliged his offspring by lifting him and his blanket out of Jazz's lap, he held him suspended for a moment or two before settling Bluestreak upon his lap sitting up. The tactician felt oddly calm with the humans inquiring about what his brother and the others had been like, but he pegged it down to having his son and his bond-mate in close proximity to him. That and the thoughts and feelings the saboteur and the sparkling were sending through their share link, didn't offer him the chance to think about the harsh reality that his oldest brother would never make it to Earth and meet the infant Cybertronian. Prowl felt Bluestreak wrap his diminutive fingers around his index finger before promptly being shoved into the infant's mouth, he held back a grimace when the sparkling clamped down with his denta plates. The tactician heard amused chuckles come from those sat on the couch.

The saboteur shifted in his seat in order to reach into his sub-space pocket and withdraw a bottle filled with the specially formulated energon _**::// Looks like someone is hungry.\\:: **_It didn't take long to heat up the bottle to the specific temperature which helped especially once the sparkling had, had enough 'gumming' his father's finger and began keening hungrily for his next feed.

"What would you like to know about them Mikaela?" The Dodge Charger inquired once he had popped the durable plastic end of the bottle into the infant's mouth silencing his whimpers.

"Well anything you guys feel comfortable with." She replied, beside her Sam nodded his head.

"Very well." Prowl said as he gathered his courage.

Jazz suddenly sensed the small amount of hesitation from his bond-mate _**::// Take things slowly love, don't rush it because you feel ya have too.\\::**_

_**::// I know.\\::**_ The tactician responded :_**:// but the quicker you can talk about those who have left this world, the quicker you can heal.\\::**_

_**::// True, so very true.\\::**_ The Solstice said as he settled back into the couch. Surprisingly it was Bumblebee was the first to tell the humans about what their fallen comrade's had been like which quickly dissolved into tales about certain individuals and the trouble they would get themselves into. It was a true process of healing for those who had been closest to the deceased, Prowl only spoke about his oldest brother a few times when prompted and Jazz was concerned that maybe the tactician had rushed into things, until he realised that Bluestreak was preoccupying his mate's attention with being fussy about taking the rest of his bottle. The silver mech took the sparkling from the black and white mech and managed to convince his offspring to take the rest of his energon, allowing his bonded to engage himself in conversation. Prowl seemed to be taking his advice about not rushing into things, after all the last thing he wanted to do was lock up his logic circuits.

The small group was so fully engrossed in their conversation that they were taken by surprise when suddenly the emergency klaxon sounded throughout the entire base prompting all on duty personnel to report to battle stations or their unit leaders. The four Autobots and the two humans immediately made their way up to the command centre to find out exactly what was going on. When they entered the control room the large monitor in the centre of the room was blaring several different warnings about unknown targets entering Earth's atmosphere, the humans rushed back and forth between their own readouts as the NEST satellites high in orbit tracked the comet like structures as they split off in different directions in order to avoid attracting too much attention to one location and thus themselves.

"Ya gotta be slaggin' kiddin' me, they arrived a lot earlier than we expected." Jazz said as he tracked each of the different signatures, Bluestreak whimpered softly in his arms as he felt the fear filter through the bond he shared with his carrier. The Solstice clutched the infant a little closer to him, he tried to soothe him through the bond and by stroking the little one's back plates in-between his sensory panels. The saboteur suddenly felt a wave of over protectiveness come Prowl especially more so when some of the signals the satellites had been tracking vanished from the screen.

"Where'd they go?" Sideswipe demanded as he, Sunstreaker, Ironhide and Lennox's team stepped into the room.

"We've lost their signal." A NEST soldier announced.

"Great all we slaggin' need." The gold Lamborghini cursed "I'm goin' out on a limb here but I assume their Decepticons?"

Prowl glanced across to the front-liner from his newly acquired position next to Optimus "We have had no contact from any other Autobot teams, so it is highly unlikely they are friendly."

"That and for a split second I sure one of the signals broadcasted a Decepticon distress beacon before it landed in the Australian outback." Hound said from where he had been sat.

Lennox looked at the screen with a small frown creasing his forehead "There's something about that region which is starting to bug me."

"Besides all the critters that can kill you?" Epps inquired good naturedly, Will shot his comrade a light glare.

"Well according to geological Intel, that area has large pockets of Uranium ore, a highly radioactive substance you humans use in your nuclear power stations." Hound responded. There was unsettled murmurings amongst the humans regarding that bit of information, there was no telling what untold damage the Decepticons could do with something so destructive and deadly.

"Then we must apprehend him quickly." Optimus suggested as he shifted slightly upon his pedes, he refused to allow the Decepticons to get their servos upon this highly radioactive material and cause world wide damage with it, he had seen it happen before on their own home world, he would be dammed if he paid witness to it again.

"Ah there's a tiny flaw in your plan sir, whoever it is, is gonna be long gone by the time you get there." Sideswipe pointed out.

"Doubt it Sides, the guy's still transmitting his signal which means he's either tryin' ta bait us or he's damaged." Jazz replied as he shifted his hold on Bluestreak, the sparkling squeaked in protest but quickly fell into recharge once again.

"Then we shall not waste time dawdling here." Prime said "Hound inform the team out on patrol that they are to check out the signal near by, Sideswipe I want you to join them." The red twin was about to open his mouth plates to protest, but he was quickly silenced by the Peter-built "Ironhide, Ratchet, myself, Hound, Mirage and Major Lennox's team will head out to Australia, we must either terminate this Decepticon or apprehend him quickly."

"Yes Sir." Was the chorus of voice's around him.

"Prowl I want you to keep an optic on the sensors and inform us if our target should start moving." Optimus instructed "Bumblebee I believe I do not need to inform you of your duty." The scout nodded and stepped a little closer to the two humans stood by his feet "Red Alert, Inferno and Wheeljack, you will remain here also." The Prime turned to the only Autobot he had yet to address "Sunstreaker I want you to remain here and stay close to Jazz." The gold twin frowned at that, surely the safety of the Solstice would be Prowl's top priority and not his, but then again when it came down to a fire fight, Sunstreaker was far more likely to be able to fend a Decepticon if one should be able to infiltrate the base. Although one could not predict the outcome should a Decepticon come up against a rather over protective progenitor, the odds would be that the 'con would not leave intact or alive for that matter.

"We'll have our gear packed as quick as we can Optimus." Major Lennox told the Semi Peter-built after issuing orders to his own team. The Autobot leader nodded his head and turned to address his 2IC whilst the others began moving into action whether setting out toward the hangars where the C17's were or back onto the duty they had been forced to neglect for this emergency. Will turned on his heel and headed out of the command centre, following in the footsteps of his fellow NEST comrades. It looked like they were off to the Australian outback, he just hoped they didn't bring back any un-friendlies.

* * * * * * * * *

**A/N:** 'but the quicker you can talk about those who have left this world, the quicker you can heal' – The words spoken by Prowl in this chapter, were the same ones offered to me by my mum when I lost my closest friend at the age of 16.

I really do apologise for taking so long in updating this but real life has been a bitch lately. Originally this chapter was quite long but in order to get it out quicker, I decided to split it in half so hopefully I will have chapter 12 up as quick as I can.

Read & Review


	12. Down Under

Special thanks to **OptimusPrime007, ElitaOne, Dragowolf **and **Ninjasnakeeyes** for reviewing the last chapter, you guys are awesome for sticking with this fic. Also thanks to those reading and adding this story to their favourites and story alerts. So therefore I have this next chapter for you.

**Warnings: **Profanities, violence and slight bit of gore **Contains spoilers for ROTF**

**Disclaimer**: Not mine, I just toy with with them and hand them back in less than pristine condition.

_'Blah' – thoughts_

_**::Blah:: - Radio Communication**_

_:/blah\: - Inter. comm._

_**:://Blah\\:: Bond communication**_

* * * * * * * * * *

**NEST C17 plane – Australia . . . .**

There was the outback, then there was beyond the outback. And now looking down at the endless stretch of raw red earth, some of which jutted out of the ground and looked far too alien, Major Lennox knew immediately that they were over Australia. He still couldn't understand why a Decepticon would land in the outback of all places since there was nothing of significance there, unless he had been injured or knocked off course. Ironhide had made a comment about their lack in intelligence but Will knew it was more than that, the only thing he could think of that they would be after out here, was the deposits of Uranium ore. They had discussed with their Autobot comrades, the numerous reasons why the Decepticons could be after the raw nuclear material, many of them had agreed upon the same conclusions that the Uranium ore could be converted into a powerful source of energon. But why the Decepticons would want such a large power source was beyond them unless they had discovered a way of retrieving their fallen leader, and reanimating his shell.

Will glanced round the large cargo plane to share momentary looks with each of his soldiers before his gaze fell upon the Autobots sharing the plane with them, they couldn't fit them all into one C17 so they had to use two other aircraft just like the one he was currently in. The Major wandered whether it was just a bit of an overkill to bring so many of their alien allies, but since they did not know which Decepticon they could be facing. The last thing they wanted to do was bring a small squad only to face a large Decepticon of Megatron's size.

"Any new information on the target?" Lennox inquired as he sat down upon one of the benches and inspected his fire arm.

"Nothing." Ironhide rumbled. The weapons specialist had grumbled about being cooped up in the plane, and stuck in alt. mode for an unknown period of time, until Ratchet had threatened to dismember him if he didn't shut up.

The Major pushed himself up onto his feet and started pacing again "I hate not havin' . . . ." His words trailed off when Prowl's voice came over the secure line inside the plane.

_**::Primary target is now on the move.::**_

"Where's it heading?" Lennox demanded as he headed to the console and monitor displaying all the new information sent to them by the Tranquillity base.

_**::Due East straight toward populated areas.::**_ The Tactician responded.

"We've got to get down there now, if he makes it toward the more populated areas we'll never be able to track him." The Major said as he tracked the blip upon the monitor with his eyes "Epps call the pilot tell him to put the throttle down, we need to be at those co-ordinates ASAP." The master sergeant nodded before heading toward the cockpit. Suddenly the blip stopped before altering course and heading back the way it came "what the hell?"

"Slagger's tryin' ta make it difficult for you to track him." Ironhide rumbled from where he was tied down in the hangar. Then without warning, a second blip appeared upon the screen a few metres from the first right before the electronics upon the plane began to fritz.

"Someone talk to me?" Lennox demanded as the plane took a sharp turn as its engines cut out.

"EMF interference." One of the other NEST personnel told him "it's interfering with the C17's systems." The soldier cocked his head to the side as someone spoke to him through his head set "pilot reports that he is unable to regain control of the plane." He turned to glance at Will "Sir he's advising that we bail out."

"Dammit." Will cursed before springing into action and getting those in the hangar moving as the plane continued on its collision course with the ground, the large hangar door opened and air from the outside rushed into the confined space making communication with one another difficult. From his vantage point, Lennox could see the other two C17's were experiencing the same technical difficulties as they were and that the personnel and Autobots inside those planes were taking the initiative about bailing out of them. He turned to the scene behind him to see his fellow soldiers adorning parachute packs whilst those that were already equipped were freeing the Autobots from their confines. Lennox heard Ironhide's engine roar before the GMC Top Kick truck floored his accelerator and tore out of the hangar barely missing a couple of NEST personnel, Will shook his head in disapproval deciding he would have to reprimand the weapons specialist later. Next to leave the hangar was Ratchet, they all knew it would be safer to get the Autobots out first before they all even attempted to jump.

Something else rocked the plane this time that sounded the emergency alarm, before another discharge of weapons fire clipped the tail end. Lennox immediately began barking at his soldiers to take the jump out of the plane and they readily complied before he and the rest of the unit followed in their footsteps. The cool evening air rushed up to greet the humans as they plunged toward the raw red earth below, the Major could see Ironhide had already made it to the ground and was opening fire upon the large monstrosity that towered way above him, in fact the Decepticon looked to be taller than Optimus Prime. There was a second one taking refuge behind a wall of rock, only making his presence known when he opened fire upon the descending Autobots and humans.

The NEST soldiers landed in waves upon the ground where immediately they opened fire upon the large Decepticon, once they had rid themselves of their parachutes. Ironhide ducked and rolled as he avoided the sabot rounds that glanced off the hulking form of Demolisher, the Decepticon disguised as a Terex Hydraulic Mining Excavator swung one massive arm in order to knock the weapons specialist off his feet, only to be distracted by another presence coming up on the other side of him. This time Demolisher did make a swing for the Autobot closing in on his position, but Optimus neatly dodged it and powered up his plasma rifle. It took time for the behemoth to turn round in order to take another swipe at the Autobot leader let alone fire at him with his own weapons, however by then the semi Peter-built had loaded a round into Demolisher's frame before taking refuge behind some rocks that jutted out of the ground. The large Decepticon roared in fury as more strikes were delivered to his frame by the humans and Ironhide, Demolisher raised his large arms above his head whilst balancing precariously upon the large wheel that kept him upright before slamming them into the ground. The resulting shock wave had those in close proximity to the blast had some toppling over whilst others who were less than fortunate were showered in rocky debris, or worse killed or severely disabled by large chunks of red earth.

The large mining excavator took his chance and back handed Optimus just as the Autobot leader was getting back onto his feet, the semi Peter-built went crashing to the ground again with a loud audio jarring thud. Demolisher rolled closer to the temporarily downed Prime only to be blown back a concussive blast dealt by Ironhide, the excavator snarled at being denied his quarry as Optimus twisted back up onto his feet in a move Jazz would appreciate before quickly moving out of the way and crouching down behind some rocks. Out of the corner of his optics Prime could see Sideways slinking away from the battlefield and quickly pinged Mirage's and Hound's comm. links informing them of the Decepticon's escape. The spy and tracking specialist sent a quick confirmation to their leader before taking off after Sideways, Optimus knew he could rely upon the pair of them to bring back the smaller Decepticon whether in one piece or in several. That and it took the two less heavily armoured bots away from the escalating battle with Demolisher who was working himself up into a fine show of temper. The semi Peter-built rolled out into the open firing several rounds into the large mining excavator before pushing himself back onto his feet, he dove for cover as laser fire tore up the ground he had been standing upon. Demolisher snarled as the humans also fired more rounds into the Decepticon before they too removed themselves out of the line of fire. Optimus watched as Ironhide drew most of Demolisher's fire in his direction, it was then that the Prime noticed the large piece of rock that jutted out of the ground giving him the advantage he needed. The Autobot leader took the distraction his weapons specialist was providing him and quickly made his way to where the GMC Top Kick Truck had drawn Demolisher, he placed his plasma rifle upon his back securing it in place as he scurried up the large red rock placing him somewhat higher than the large mining excavator.

"Come 'ere miserable insect." Demolisher growled as he made a swipe for Ironhide, the old weapons specialist threw himself into an awkward sideways roll in order to get out of the way of the large claws that were determined to get a grip on him. He had seen what damage could be bestowed upon a mech if a particularly large Decepticon got a hold of an Autobot who was a quarter of his size. The black Top Kick Truck could hear Major Lennox shouting at the members of his unit to continue laying down cover fire, then out the corner of his optics he saw armoured plating glinting in the slowly fading sunlight. Recognising the form to be his leader's, Ironhide stopped moving entirely and opened continuous fire upon the large Decepticon driving him back to ward the large natural feature Optimus had clambered up onto. Demolisher snarled as the numerous shots peppered his frame and drove him back to the rock formation behind, not realising the potential danger he was in until it was too late, Optimus leapt off the rock face onto the large Decepticon's shoulders using the long orange and gold sword blade he had driven into thick armour to keep him from falling off. The mining excavator roared in both pain and anger, he flailed in the attempt to dislodge his unwelcome passenger only to expose his vulnerable parts to the enemy on the ground. The sabot rounds fired from the humans weapons buried themselves deep inside his armour melting delicate circuitry and tubing, each shot slowly wearing him down. Ironhide unleashed the fury of his weapons upon the wheel joints hoping to bring Demolisher down whilst Optimus unloaded a barrage of weapons fire into the back of the Decepticons neck and helm in the attempt to disable him.

Then summoning up enough strength, the Autobot leader drove in one of his swords into an area he had weakened with his plasma cannon, severing vital cables and tubing. The large mining excavator gave one last roar of defiance before he toppled sideways into an unceremonious heap, Optimus was thrown clear and tucked himself into a ball as he rolled until he hit a small rock jutting out of the red earth. The Prime shakily pulled himself up onto his feet and made his way over, rifle still at the ready. Ironhide immediately scrutinised him closely for any kind of serious injury but the semi Peter-built simply shook him off telling him that he was fine. Optimus then turned his attention to the downed Decepticon only to hear him chuckling and gurgling in his own mech fluid, the large red and blue mech frowned at Demolisher's last act of defiance.

"This is not . . . your planet to rule Prime . . . The Fallen-the fallen . . . shall . . . rise . . . again." The large Decepticon spluttered before his frame shuddered as systems shut down and his spark guttered out. The words that had left Demolisher's vocaliser only served to deepen the frown upon the Autobot leader's face, what did he mean by the Fallen? His spark raced for a split second before normalising again, he couldn't have possibly meant that the other Decepticons had plans to bring back their fallen leader Megatron? Optimus tore his gaze away from the off-line form of the Decepticon and glanced in the direction he could hear the faint sounds of laser fire, if Mirage and Hound brought Sideways back in a relatively intact condition, they might be able to get answers from him in regards to what the others were planning.

* * * * *

The Decepticon disguised as an Audi R8 watched as the Autobots tackled his much larger comrade, each of them were scoring hits upon Demolisher's armoured plating. Even a team of the planet's native inhabitants were causing some damage with their weapons, but not enough to bring the large Decepticon down. Sideway's crept silently from the battle taking place before transforming into his alt. Mode and flooring his accelerator, he didn't need the Excavator to tell him to retreat and attempt to rendezvous with the others. After all he wasn't exactly one who liked getting their afts handed to them, he was just glad those twins weren't in the field or he might have been in some trouble. He raced across the hard red earth, feeling his low slung under carriage scrape against the ground whenever he hit a bump or a rut, he planned to reach the human settlements and disappear under the radar to escape the Autobot's detection. He had no plans to fight the Autobots since he was just a hit and run kind of mech anyway, he preferred to leave the scrapping of their enemies in messy ways to the larger 'Con's.

Sideways swerved round some dangerous looking rocks that jutted out of the red earth, a few nearly scraping his paintwork. But he did not care about the small scrapes and dents he was acquiring as he gunned his engine, all he was focused upon was reaching the nearest human settlement. However that appeared to be his own undoing, as he was entirely focused upon reaching his goal, that he failed to notice the vehicle shimmering into view next to him. Sideways cursed loudly when his sensors registered a second Autobot signal closing in on him, he floored his accelerator in order to put some distance between them. However the one that had appeared right beside him was staying right on his tailpipe, no matter how much he tried to shake him, the Autobot Mirage stayed with him. Snarling in frustration, Sideways leapt out of his alt. mode and into his bipedal form, he sprung at the blue and white Ford GT. Mirage barely had the time to convert to his own bipedal form before the Decepticon disguised as an Audi R8 clashed with him, the pair tumbled onto the red earth in a shower of dust and debris. The pair of them wrestled neither gaining an advantage over the other until Sideways drew one of his rotating saw and sliced through armoured plating, a pained gasp escaped the spy's lip components as he stumbled backwards. Mirage gingerly touched his left side with his right hand before pulling it away to see his fingertips covered in blue energon, he shot a glare in the Decepticons direction, one that promised to deliver some once of pain.

The Decepticon disguised as an Audi R8 returned the glare before leaping forward, melee weapon extended outwards in the attempt to cause further damage to the Autobot spy, however Mirage threw himself into a sideways roll and shot a round into the back of Sideways. The Decepticon howled in pain as the blast struck vulnerable back plating and exposed joints, he stumbled forward before regaining his footing and spinning round, Cybertronian profanities escaping his vocaliser as he cursed Mirage's lineage all the way back to the 13 original Transformers. However they were quickly cut off when the spy planted a round house kick in the Decepticons facial plates, followed by a quick jab of an index finger into a pressure node in his neck. Sideways collapsed to the hard red ground, limbs twitching for a couple of seconds as neural signals were cut off before they went still. Mirage knelt beside the Audi and placed the stasis device he had removed from sub-space and placed it upon the furiously glaring Decepticon's left temple. The Autobot spy said nothing as he pressed his index finger upon the centre of it and watched as the blazing red optics darkened and shuttered themselves.

Mirage spun round, weapon pointed at the ready only to grimace when he felt the action pull upon his wound, his optics settled upon Hound making a fast approach. The primarily green mech braked hard and converted into bipedal mode, he rushed across to his partner and immediately began checking him for injuries.

"Hound I'm fine." He told his bond-mate despite the steadily trickling of energon running from the wound on his left side.

"You're wounded, I hardly count that as fine." The tracking specialist responded as he removed his field kit from sub-space and opened it to search for some clean rags.

Mirage gently gripped his mate's right forearm "I've already pinged Ratchet's comm. link, he's on his way over here now." However that did not prevent the Jeep Wrangler from pulling out a couple of rags in order to stem the flow of energon seeping out of his lover's injury. The Ford GT smiled at his mate's caring nature but it quickly dissolved into a grimace when the green mech pressed the rag against the wound, he heard Hound mutter words of apology for causing further pain so Mirage sent words of reassurance and forgiveness over their bond. After all a minor wound was nothing compared to the victory of capturing a Decepticon who they might possibly get to talk, especially if he was persuaded in the right way. Then they might be able to uncover what Starscream was really up to, and find out who else had landed upon Earth to create chaos and disorder.

* * * * * * * * * *

**Late Evening - Hoover Dam . . . .**

Agent Simmons knew history had a tendency to repeat itself, and here they were risking setting in place the same events that had occurred four years ago. Except they didn't have giant alien robots hunting down a cubed shaped artefact or a whiny adolescent boy demanding to be taken to his car. Although sometimes Simmons wandered what was worse a young boy with highly dangerous giant alien robots as friends, or scientists. Especially the ones who were highly interested in the Autobot sparkling, they wanted to study it (he was reluctant to call it a he since he didn't quite understand how mechanical beings could have a sex) for two reasons; the first being that it had been born from a highly intelligent mechanical species and to simply answer all the questions the scientists had about the Transformers including their reproductive methods. The second being that the infant Cybertronian harnessed an endless power supply, or so their informants told them, that would benefit the human race greatly since their species was determined to destroy their own planet. Not that their new alien residents were any better after destroying their own planet through war and destruction, over one simple alien artefact.

Now Simmons was stood in the main hangar where NBE-1, and he would continue to call him that, had originally been kept. Most of the scientists had all been for keeping him there again after the mass of destruction, the deceased Decepticon leader had caused the last time. However Simmons hardly suspected that the remaining Decepticon forces, if they were making their way to Earth as the Autobot's leader had said, would come looking for the dead carcass of their leader. Although he had believed that about the cube and NBE-1 several years ago before NBEs 2 (Bumblebee),3 (Barricade),4 (Blackout),5 (Starscream),6 (Frenzy) appeared on Earth, so this time he was taking no chances. He and his team were still trying to locate the extract of Allspark energy they had uncovered in the Arctic, but that teleporting Raptor had made it nigh impossible to locate it again. Another thing the scientists were hoping to get their hands on; the teleportation and transwarp technology possessed by both factions. Men like himself, had dreamt of going beyond their solar system just to see what was out there, but the means to do it was restricted to science fiction. Yet they had an alien species who had travelled vast galaxies and come across hundreds of different species, but they refused to share what they knew on the terms that it could do more harm than good in their hands.

Director Galloway had spoken to him the other day about an argument he had with Optimus Prime regarded sharing weapon technology, after a botched up mission regarding one of the Autobot teams and Major Lennox and his unit. Although Simmons could have told the Director straight away what the Autobot leader's answer would be, and spare him the heightened blood pressure. Besides once the scientists had trawled through the mountain of data they had gathered from the deceased Decepticons, they would then be able to manufacture their own weapons that would be close on par with the Autobots and the surviving Decepticons. Their 'guest' known as NBE-13 or Wreckage as the Cybertronian had told them repeatedly, had supplied some design specs regarding some weapons the humans would be able to produce, but of course the former Decepticon was no NBE-10 (Ironhide) who apparently was a specialist in different kinds of armament. The two weapons they knew of that were effective against the Transformers, was the sabot rounds and the EMP discharge weapon. But they weren't infallible.

Agent Simmons was brought out of his thoughts by the sound of footsteps approaching. He cocked his head slightly to the side to see a man of medium sized stature in a crisp suit make his way toward him, the man's glasses were currently sat on the end of his nose.

"Agent Simmons." The man greeted as he came to stand beside the taller man.

"Director Galloway." Simmons responded.

Galloway glanced at the hulking but damaged and off-line frame of NBE-1 "We missed an opportunity today."

"So I have been informed." The former sector seven agent replied. The EDF received continuous updates from the selected agents infiltrating the NEST ranks, They had, after Doctor Hendrickson had been apprehended and processed, to change location and fall under the radar for a while whilst things blew over. Luckily enough for them, the female scientist hadn't spilt a word about them and the operations they were currently running under the president's orders, but she had released from their services after being considered too much of a liability "don't worry Director, we have plans in motion ta catch us a little NBE to study."

"Good because the president is becoming anxious about letting them staying and creating more of their species." Galloway said "the world is packed full of humans as it is without adding giant alien robots to the mix."

"Then why hasn't the president thought about asking them to leave?" A new voice asked and both men turned to see Salazar make his way toward them.

"He has since he received information that more of these Decepticons . . ." He waved a hand in the direction of Megatron " . . . will be arriving on this planet shortly." In fact it had been discussed and debated that the only reason the Decepticons were coming to Earth was because the Autobots were still here, and many believed that should their alien visitors be allowed to stay then they could very well be condemning their planet and its people to the same fate that had befallen the Transformers own planet.

"Then the sooner we can manufacture weapons with inexhaustible power sources and ammunition the better." Salazar said as he clasped his hands behind his back and glanced over in the direction where a group of scientists had suddenly appeared, carrying various bits of equipment.

"How do you propose going about the capture of NBE twenty eight?" Galloway inquired.

Salazar glanced in the direction of the hangar where a squad of LM units and a Decepticon were currently being stored "Don't worry Director, we've got everything prepared. You just concentrate on providing a cover story to the Australian government about what didn't happen in the outback."

"Very well I shall leave the extraction to you, but you are not under any circumstances permitted to take human lives." Galloway told them as he regarded the two former sector seven agents, both of whom had, had an obsession over the NBEs and still had.

"Oh we didn't have plans too Sir." Salazar began "we have other methods of dealing with the human NEST personnel should they get in our way." The agent gesticulated in the direction where several racks were located which contained grenade launchers of different kinds, guns loaded with sabot rounds and smaller, lighter compacted guns that Galloway suspected carried tranquilliser darts. There were also some crates stacked upon one another, although one was currently open as an EDF agent inspected its contents, which turned out to be sleep gas devices that could be implanted in the ventilation ducts.

"Then I shall leave you to it gentlemen." The Director said as he stepped back and was just about to turn to leave when Salazar spoke up again.

"I overheard the NEST team terminated a Decepticon in the Australian . . . ." The former sector seven agent's voice trailed off when Galloway cut him off with a wave of his hand.

"Yes, yes you'll get it, and I'll also see to it that you also get the one the Autobots took in as a prisoner." He replied as he started walking toward the exit, both Simmons and Salazar watched him leave. They had everything planned down to the smallest detail and if they had another helping hand? Well the preplanned attack upon the Tranquillity base would go allot smoother. However they knew that the technology they had installed in Wreckage wasn't completely infallible and tended to glitch, but the scientists were working to iron out the kinks before they got their hands on Sideways. A personality they had overheard that could be persuaded to aid them in their fight, however they would not know until they had the Decepticon disguised as an Audi R8 here under the dam and they were face to face with it.

* * * * * * * * * *

**Following Day - Tranquillity base . . . . **

Jazz shifted uneasily upon his pedes as he stood upon the cold tarmac of the recommissioned runway, stood on either side of him was Prowl and Sunstreaker as they waited for the team to return from Australia. They had initially been concerned about the strike unit after they had lost communication with them, but after several agonizing minutes they had been able to re-establish contact with them. Although when they had lost contact with the team in Australia, they had been wary about re-establishing communications when a Decepticon signal was close by to the base, after all they didn't want to give away the fact that they had a strike team hunting down two of the new enemy presences on Earth. They had waited patiently for Arcee, Trailbreaker and Sideswipe to report back before they could open a comm. link, once the patrol team had reported in that whoever it was had disappeared under the radar, they attempted to contact Optimus and his unit. Their Prime had requested two new C17's to be sent out to them, the military had been a little sore about losing three of their large air craft at first but sent them regardless.

With communications re-established and transports on their way out to return the NEST strike unit back to Tranquillity, the team still at the base had their own problems to worry about. Director Galloway and Tom Banachek had arrived at the base with a llarge team of personnel dressed in very different combat gear to what the NEST soldiers were wearing. The latter of the two men looked none to happy about being there, but the Solstice suspected that Banachek had no choice about being there. Where as Galloway looked a little suspiciously pleased with himself and the saboteur couldn't help think that it had something to do with their team en route back from Australia, he decided it would be best to give Optimus the heads up about Galloway and he could hear Prowl's thoughts echo his own. The saboteur pinged Inferno's comm. link and requested that he get Red Alert to send a message out to their leader on a secure line, the head of search and rescue acknowledged his order with slight reluctance. There was no doubt the security chief would go on one of his paranoid fritzes of why they would be sending a secure message to their Commander, especially since he didn't trust the humans anyway. Jazz quickly searched along the bond connecting him to his sparkling, and found Bluestreak's end eerily quiet. He sent a quick message to Arcee asking the femme if his son was alright, she immediately told him that the little grey infant was deep in recharge, and that he was too stop worrying so much. But the Solstice couldn't help feel nervous for Bluestreak's safety especially more so with Galloway and a team of unknown armed men currently on the base. He felt calming and soothing words from Prowl's end of the bond, however he could tell the tactician was just as apprehensive as he was.

The saboteur was drawn out of his thoughts when he heard the familiar drone of plane engines and turned his visored helm toward the late afternoon skies, he could make out the two large C17's as they entered the air space above the base. Normally one air craft would land then be taxied away from the runway before another could land, but since one of the C17's was carrying one dead Decepticon and an unconscious prisoner, Optimus wanted to make sure there was adequate support upon the ground in case Sideway's managed to on-line and try and make his escape. Jazz watched from where he and the others were stood as the first large air craft swooped in low before its wheels touched the tarmac with a loud screech, he turned his head slightly when he heard footsteps approach him then dipped his head to acknowledge Wheeljack's presence. They had been informed there had been injuries, both human and mech including several human casualties, which required the engineer and human med-techs to be on sight once the planes landed. The Solstice could feel his fuel pump begin to speed up slightly as he continued to observe the first C17 as it turned at the end of the runway before there was a loud hiss as pressurised cabin air escaped, he could feel it in his sensor net that something was about to go down and he knew its outcome wasn't going to be good.

With quick manoeuvring that a trained pilot was only capable of the second C17 landed and taxied its way up the runway to where the other was situated just as Optimus emerged from the first in his alt. Mode. Immediately armed NEST soldiers surrounded the second air craft when the ramp began to lower with Sunstreaker not far behind them, his plasma rifle pointed at the ready. Both Prowl and Jazz headed to the first air craft as human medical personnel swarmed in to treat the wounded whilst Wheeljack moved to help Ratchet see to a couple of their own. The Solstice met their leader's gaze before the Prime's cerulean optics peered over his finned helm to Galloway and his men. Optimus' gaze narrowed suspiciously at the humans presence since he was certain they had not created a national incident with their latest mission, after all they had checked in with General Morshower to make sure the Australian government had been informed of 'military manoeuvres' in the outback.

The semi-Peter-built removed his gaze from Galloway and his group to Prowl and Jazz when he saw their frames stiffen minutely, he glanced in the direction they were looking in to see Lennox and his unit unloading both the remains of Demolisher and the unconscious form of Sideways. Optimus started making his way toward them as a group of NEST base personnel brought drove over a pair of semi trucks with trailers and equipment in order to strap the two Decepticons down with. Prime couldn't help but feel in his spark something was about to go down and ordered his fellow Autobots to be on their guard, he watched as Ironhide and Sunstreaker manoeuvred and placed Demolisher and Sideways on their respective trailers with next to no care at all. The large red and blue mech could feel the tension in the atmosphere building and it wasn't long before his predictive programming sprung up a warning upon his HUD. He heard it before he saw it, the drawing of weapons and the rushing of feet, Optimus growled in anger at Galloway and his men's actions as he and the rest of the Autobots were surrounded. The unknown soldiers even disarmed Major Lennox and his team and ushered them to kneel upon the wet tarmac with their hands behind their heads.

"What is the meaning of this?" Prime rumbled angrily.

"Just the acquisition of two items." Galloway responded as he watched his team secure the two Decepticons. Beside him, Tom Banachek looked grim, none too happy with the events transpiring.

"What slaggin' use do you have for them scrap heaps?!" Ironhide demanded, the weapons specialist none to pleased about having several weapons aimed up at him. Especially ones he knew that held the capacity to severely damage or worse kill him.

The Director glanced up at the GMC Top Kick Truck "That's classified."

"Classified my aft." Jazz grumbled from where he was stood just behind his leader, the words leaving his vocaliser earned him Galloway's attention almost immediately. The Solstice narrowed his optics when he noticed the humans gaze upon him and couldn't help but notice the small smirk appearing upon the Director's lips.

Optimus shifted upon his pedes as he regarded the humans "Sideways is our prisoner Director Galloway."

"Afraid not Optimus, the president gave our 'good friend' Galloway here express permission to take the live NBE into custody." Banachek told the Autobot leader.

"Then your president doesn't realise the potential danger he is putting his people in by removing Sideways from our custody." Prowl flared his door wings as he spoke, he had already calculated the outcome should a skirmish occur, and although it pointed in their favour the future result proved less than promising to them.

"You've already put American lives at stake by allowing one Decepticon to escape your midsts, and others to roam free." Galloway argued back "in fact the only reason they're here is because of you, you brought your war to our planet expecting us to fight it for you." There was a loud sudden growl from the group of Autobots and Optimus immediately had to wrap one large hand around Sunstreaker's upper arm to prevent the front-liner from intentionally stepping upon the human. Galloway looked somewhat shell shocked at the thought that one of their supposed alien allies would even think to step on him when it was against their directive, but quickly regained his composure "now if you'll stay out of our way."

Ironhide flexed his fingers as his cannons began to hum, ready in an instant to blow the pitiful human into tiny molecules. However Jazz quickly stepped in front of him and shook his head, telling his comrade that it wasn't worth getting a few sabot rounds shot into his thick armoured hide. The group watched as Galloway's unit commandeered the two trucks and drove them toward the entrance of the base once the frames of the Decepticons had been covered with tarps to hide them from view, whilst the rest of the unknown soldiers packed themselves into the large SUV's they had brought with them and also left the scene. Tom Banachek stepped past Optimus but not before gently tapping the red and blue armour of the Semi's calf in a friendly manner, the Autobot leader seemed to understand the message given to him from the ex-sector seven agent. The group watched as Galloway's unit left entirely before Prime's comm. link was immediately commandeered by Red Alert demanding to know what had happened.

"I should have been allowed to step on the pitiful little human." Sunstreaker snapped.

"We could have let ya, but then ya wouldn't be any different than a Decepticon." Jazz replied as he watched their leader step away from the group as he tried to placate a frantic security chief.

"Ya not the only one Sunstreaker." Ironhide growled as he stood protectively over Lennox and his men as they brushed themselves off, none of them too happy about what had happened either. They had spent the last two days hunting down the two Decepticons and successfully killing the one of them after a long flight, which including losing the three C17's they had embarked out upon, then losing several NEST soldiers in taking down Demolisher. And now within five minutes they had lost everything they had worked hard for, betrayed by their own president they had sworn allegiance too. Although a few wanted to believe that their country's leader had been manipulated into ordering the removal of the Decepticon prisoner from NEST hands.

Optimus stepped back toward the unsettled group once he had managed to placate Red Alert enough into calming down and settled his optics upon the mixture of humans and Autobots stood together. He could sense the tension, frustration and anger from the group at not only losing their quarry, but being threatened and held at gun point. The Prime watched as Ironhide attempted to herd Lennox and his unit toward the human barracks knowing they needed to rest and refuel before they were debriefed by General Morshower through telecommunications, he knew the old weapons specialist was feeling somewhat protective toward the human unit at the moment. He quickly reminded the Top Kick Truck though to have his own injuries seen too once he was sure Lennox and his team was alright before Prime turned his attention to the others. Mirage had sunk down onto the tarmac in an exhausted heap whilst Hound fretted about his wounded bond-mate, Ratchet was in one of his usual moods snarling at anyone who got in his way as he attended to the spy's injuries, he more than once threatened to reformat the tracking specialist into a kitchen appliance. Wheeljack had gone after Ironhide to treat the weapons specialist for his injuries once Ratchet discovered that Top Kick Truck had disappeared.

Sunstreaker had already stormed off no doubt looking for some sort of vent, Optimus just hoped that it wasn't his brother he was looking for to turn into a pile of scrap. Prime then turned his attention to the last mech stood on the tarmac, both door wings were high upon his back whilst bright blue optics were focused upon a point in the distance. The semi Peter-built noticed the lack of the Solstice's presence anywhere and wondered briefly when Jazz had disappeared back into the base. Optimus stepped across the wet tarmac and stood beside his 2IC, he could see a deep frown marring the normally cool and collected facial plates of the Dodge Charger and knew something was bugging Prowl.

The Prime folded his arms across his chest before addressing his military strategist "Is everything alright Prowl?"

The black and white mech glanced up at his leader "I'm trying to find a logical solution of why the humans would want Demolisher's corpse and Sideways taking into their custody, it simply does not make sense."

Optimus gripped Prowl's left shoulder " I know old friend." The large blue and red mech allowed his hand to drop down by his side and tore his gaze away from his 2IC "I know." Things were becoming complicated with their human allies and Optimus wondered what future incidents they would have with them.

* * * * * * * * * *

**A/N: **Yea I know Sideways and Demolisher were in Shanghai but I decided to change things for the fun of it. And my youngest sister who absolutely adores Audi R8's demanded I leave Sideways alive and fairly intact so I complied lol.

Read & Review


	13. Calm before the Storm

Special thanks once again to **OptimusPrime007**, **Ninjasnakeeyes**, **Dragowolf**, **ElitaOne**, **AAJ** **Edward, Shizuka Taiyou,** **xStarSaber, Havbot **and** girl1213**, you guys are awesome! I didn't mean to take so long in updating this but I've been really busy with normal life, that and my creative muses went AWOL. I've also been helping Yami-Yugi3 with a few of her stories so you might wanna check them out too. Technically this was one large chapter, but I once again separated it for easy reading. Anyway onto chapter 13.

**Warnings: **Fluff, lots of fluff, profanities, violence, slight bit of gore, and a lil slash between two male characters (which can be avoided) **Contains spoilers for Transformers Revenge of the Fallen Prequel Comic.**

**Disclaimer**: Not mine, I just toy with with them and hand them back in less than pristine condition.

_'Blah' – thoughts_

_**::Blah:: - Radio Communication**_

_:/blah\: - Inter. comm._

_**:://Blah\\:: Bond communication**_

* * * * * * * * * *

Jazz groaned as his systems on-lined after his internal chronometer notified him of what time it was, he un-shuttered his optics only to jerk fully awake despite his frame protesting the quick movement, when he realised he was on the couch in the main living space. The Solstice pushed himself up into a sitting position and scrubbed tired facial plates with clawed hands, he then stretched his arms high above his head to undo any kinks in his back or joints. The past three nights had been hectic for both him and Prowl with Bluestreak acting up, the sparkling had refused to settle into recharge leaving both of his creators tired and irritable. The pair had discussed between them what they could be doing wrong, but nothing seemed to add up leaving them frustrated and helpless. They both knew the atmosphere of the base had been undeniably tense since the incident with Galloway a week ago, tempers had flared and relationships had become strained especially with the humans officials and the government they worked for. Believing that to be the problem at first, Prowl had taken his restless creation out of the base in his alt. mode and driven back and forth down the runway hoping the motions would soothe the infant into recharge. However it quickly became apparent that the tension inside the base was not the source of the problem, after experiencing another night of getting no sleep between them, the pair had pinged Ratchet's comm. link demanding grumpily that the medic meet them in the med-bay.

It turned out after receiving audio and processor aches from Bluestreak's loud bouts of wailing, that the little one's stubby sensory panels were the cause of his restless behaviour. The little appendages were going through a small growth which was causing little aches and pains, Ratchet had quickly mixed up an exceedingly low dosage painkiller and administered it to the unhappy infant. It hadn't taken long before the sparkling's whimpers became broken clicks then into blessed silence when he finally dropped into recharge. The CMO then handed one of them a small canister of the think purple syrupy fluid and a little measuring cap telling them how often they had give it to the sparkling and how much, he also advised them to keep Bluestreak on his side before finally kicking them out of the med-bay so he could go back into recharge.

Even though they had received the prescribed drug from Ratchet for their sparkling, they still did not get a full recharge cycle. The little grey infant still woke them up during the night but not as often as he had been doing, which was why Jazz found himself on the couch. Both he and Prowl had collapsed there after getting up alternatively to see to their creation during the night, speaking of which he happened to notice that his bonded was nowhere in sight. The saboteur reached through the bond he shared with his spark-mate wondering where he was only for his audio receptors to pick up the sounds of loud clicks, chirps and warbles. The Solstice frowned a little in confusion as he pushed himself off the couch and proceeded in the direction of the wash rack, he peered round the door way making sure not to alert Prowl and his son to his presence and took in the sight before him. Jazz leant against the doorway and folded his arms across his chest, a small smile crept its way onto his lip components as he watched his lover bathe their rather enthusiastic sparkling. Bluestreak was happily clicking, warbling, and chirping at any and everything that attracted his attention whilst splashing water everywhere, which included soaking parts of Prowl's armoured plating. However the Dodge Charger didn't seemed to mind as he kept his creation up right with a hand behind his back although not in a way to restrict the stubby little sensory panels that were high upon the infant's back and flared out, seemingly causing no trouble like they had been doing.

"Sounds like someone's havin' fun." Jazz said finally announcing his presence.

A small smile appeared upon the black and white's lip components "Morning love." The Solstice pushed himself off the door frame and stepped across the room to the small tub they had, had installed so they could bathe Bluestreak, the saboteur crouched behind the tactician and pressed himself flush against his lover's back so he could peer over his shoulder.

"Hey Blue." The silver mech called, the sparkling immediately heard his spark carrier and attempted to shuffle round on his aft to face Jazz only to nearly end up face first in the water. The Solstice chuckled when Bluestreak twittered at his father, then glanced up at his daddy with bright baby blue optics and began cooing at the saboteur. Prowl looked rather indignant at being twittered at before shifting to reach across in order to grab a towel, Jazz moved to kneel beside his bonded and smoothed a clawed hand over Bluestreak's grey helm producing a soft purring noise. The bonded pair knew they would have to move quickly as their sparkling didn't like being taken away from something he thought was fun. The saboteur retrieved the towel from his mate and removed his hand from his offspring's helm and unfolded the towel ready to 'catch' the little grey infant. Once he was ready the pair began counting down from five to one over their bond before Prowl lifted Bluestreak from the bath and dumped him on the towel, Jazz instantly bundled the cloth around the sparkling and was up and out of the wash rack. The Saboteur could hear the sparkling's protest at being abruptly pulled away from the bath tub and was more than happily telling his spark carrier so as he was carried across the main living space, Jazz entered the sparkling's room and headed straight over to the table and the large basket sitting on top of it. The silver mech searched through it looking for a toy in particular whilst Bluestreak continued to twitter until he realised his spark carrier was no longer paying him any attention, then he began to whimper unhappily. Jazz soothed him both vocally and through their shared link before finally finding what he was looking for, he grabbed the toy and waved it in front of Bluestreak.

The sparkling visibly brightened at seeing his favourite toy and reached out to grab it with his diminutive hands, a small smile crept its way up onto Jazz's lip components as he handed the rattle like toy to the little grey infant. Bluestreak shook the toy and began warbling, clicking and chirping as it played little songs and changed colour, another one of Wheeljack's inventions since the engineer believed that human toys were simply not robust enough to take the abuse the sparkling was bound to inflict upon them. The saboteur sat down upon the berth and sat Bluestreak upon his right thigh as the sparkling preferred to sit rather than lie down now that he discovered he could almost sit up on his own. The sparkling continued to shake the toy as Jazz dried as much of his plating as he could, the silver mech traced the same paths he took to make sure he wasn't leaving any water marks upon his creations plating as today was a rather special day for his little one. Despite everything that had been going on, Optimus was still happy to carry out Bluestreak's 'baptism' although he had asked for volunteers to remain on monitoring duty and out on patrol. Jazz hadn't been surprised when Red Alert instantly informed them he would be staying inside of the security room to keep a close watch on the base, both Inferno and Hound volunteered for patrol whilst Trailbreaker volunteered for monitoring duty, Skyfire took to aerial patrol as usual since he was their only flier however he did not head out alone a couple of NEST pilots and scientists joined him. Red Alert had reluctantly set up a separate live feed for those that wouldn't be attending so they could still watch the proceedings as it happened in real time, they were also given the opportunity to attend the celebrations later that day as long as the Decepticons kept quiet.

Jazz was drawn out of his musings when he heard a loud clatter and glanced down to see Bluestreak had dropped the toy he had been playing with and was now 'gumming' his fingers, the saboteur knew the infant would be ready for his first feed shortly "Well ya nice an' clean now for Optimus an' th' others." He held the sparkling in front of him inspecting his plating before drawing him in again and settling the infant into the crook of his left elbow "we just need ta get . . . ." His words trailed off when he saw his bond-mate leant against the door frame with a bottle of energon already made up in his right hand "okay ya father's already beaten me to it." A smile tugged at the corner of Prowl's lips as he pushed himself off the door frame and stepped across the room, he stood beside his bond-mate and smoothed a hand over Bluestreak's helm earning him a muffled hum of contentment.

"Let me take him so you can go and get cleaned up." The tactician told his mate as he knelt down to retrieve Bluestreak's toy and put it on the sparkling's berth, he rejoined his mate as Jazz held the infant out for him to take. Prowl took his creation and settled him into the crook of his left elbow as Jazz began making his way out of the room, the Solstice turned once he reached the doorway and glanced back at his mate and child. The saboteur watched as the tactician gently removed the sparkling's fingers out of his mouth with his little finger before presenting the bottle to the infant, Bluestreak immediately thrust his arms out to reach for it prompting a chuckle from the Dodge Charger. It was always a sight to see when Prowl fed their sparkling as the black and white mech absolutely adored their creation, that and the endearing look he gave Bluestreak when the infant laid in his arms chirping or clicking at his father. The tactician met his gaze briefly before turning his attention back to their sparkling, the small smile that had formed upon the Solstice's lip components widened before Jazz finally stepped out of the room and made his way to the wash rack.

Prowl watched as his bonded left the room before returning his attention back to Bluestreak who was nosily consuming his morning feed, bright baby blue optics simply stared up at him whilst diminutive grey hands clutched the sides of the bottle. The tactician leant down to place a kiss upon the crest of the infant's developing chevron before pulling back in time to see Bluestreak's optics shutters 'blink', then avoid the bottle as the sparkling pulled it out of his mouth with a gasp of air. The infant simply observed his father for a few seconds before giving off a few noisy clicks and warbles, a small chuckle escaped the black and white mech until he saw an unhappy frown appear upon Bluestreak's facial plates. It wasn't long before the whimpers started and the restless movements began, Prowl had a feeling he knew what the problem was as he awkwardly manoeuvred the sparkling onto his left shoulder, then stepped across to the side table. He placed the bottle down upon the table and picked up the small canister that contained the low grade painkiller, it proved to be awkward not having both hands free but he managed. Bluestreak's whimpers began to escalate until Prowl sent loving and reassuring thoughts over their shared link, he could sense Jazz's presence as well as the silver mech tried to comfort their infant. After all the last thing he wanted was for his bonded to rush through their quarters trailing soap and water across the floor, or worse injury himself in his haste to help him attend to their ailing sparkling. The tactician crossed the room and sat upon the berth where he removed Bluestreak from his shoulder, he settled him against his abdomen with his arm supporting the little one's back. The Dodge Charger cooed to his offspring as he pressed the edge of the measuring cup against the sparkling's lip components, however Bluestreak was having none of it and flailed nearly upsetting the cup and its contents.

"Blue." The tactician rumbled as he tried again but still the sparkling refused to take the thick syrupy fluid, he knew he would have to improve his son's mood before the infant obliged his father. Prowl tried tickling Bluestreak's abdominal plates but all it earned him was unhappy warbles so he attempted the one thing he knew would calm the sparkling, he began humming Cybertronian lullaby that one of his own creator's use to sing to him when he was a sparkling. Immediately Bluestreak began to settle although small broken clicks and whimpers escaped his vocaliser, he was certainly in a better mood so Prowl tried again and this time the little grey infant allowed his father to feed him the purple liquid. His creation made a funny face no doubt at the bitter after taste, then Prowl waited for the medicine to take effect before shifting Bluestreak back onto his shoulder, he made his way across the room to where he had left the sparkling's bottle. The little grey infant was now happily chirping at his sire before it was muffled when the tactician offered him the rest of his feed, it didn't take long for him to finish off the bottle and glance sleepily up at his father. The black and white mech continued to hum to his son until the Bluestreak dropped off into recharge, Prowl smiled down at his creation as he headed over to the infant's crib before placing him inside. He then spent a few moments rearranging his position so the sparkling was resting upon his side with a wall of small pillows behind him supporting his position, the Dodge Charger stepped back simply observing his young offspring in his sleep before making his way out of the room and into the main living area. He immediately spotted Jazz making his way across to him, no doubt wondering if everything was alright.

_**::// He's fine.\\::**_ Prowl told his bonded as the Solstice peered into the room, checking upon their creation himself.

_**::// Poor little Blue, well at least if he recharges now, he'll hopefully be in a good mood fer th' ceremony this afternoon.\\::**_ Jazz responded as he stepped away from their little one's room and toward the large couch where two mugs of energon were resting upon the small table in front of it. The saboteur sunk tiredly into the couch, his entire frame sagging, he felt more alert than before although he certainly could still feel the effects of not getting enough recharge. Jazz leant forward in order to collect his mug of energon when he noticed his bonded hadn't moved from where he was standing, he knew Prowl's gaze was focused upon the little occupant inside the room. The Solstice could feel the turmoil in the tactician's spark despite the frail block Prowl was trying to put in place, Jazz knew it was a defence mechanism to prevent him from probing any deeper, and like every other occasion when it happened, the saboteur abided by his mate's wishes and pulled away.

"You're broodin' Prowler." The saboteur said "come on sit, you're tired just as much as I am." The tactician reluctantly moved from where he was standing and sat down beside his bonded, he nodded his thanks when the Solstice handed him his ration of energon. Jazz knew his bonded's mood wasn't improving and decided to try and change that by reassuring his mate that their son was going to be fine despite was what was going on "love lil Blue is gonna be fine, Ratch said the aches will go away."

"Yes they will Jazz, but they will return periodically throughout his entire life, even now as an adult I still have the same trouble." Prowl replied as he glanced down at the half drained mug in his hands, he truly wished Bluestreak had adopted Jazz's genetic template rather than his own. After all he wanted to spare his creation the difficulties of growing up with sensory panels.

"Prowler we've been over this, what can I do to convince ya differently?" The Solstice inquired until he realised he had answered his own question, the saboteur pushed himself up from the couch and stepped in front of his mate. The tactician was about to protest when Jazz slid into his lap, but was effectively silenced with a single clawed digit placed upon his slightly parted lip components. The silver mech shifted his hands so they slid over the top of broad shoulders and down the Dodge Charger's back.

"You know we shouldn't be . . . ." His words trailed off into a gasp when he felt a pulse of magnetics against his door wing joints, the sensitive appendages twitched and trembled as the magnetic pulses rippled across their surfaces. Prowl instantly melted into the back of the couch as his entire frame relaxed, his optics dimmed to a dark hue but they soon brightened again when Jazz snapped his head round in the direction of their sparkling's room "Jazz?" The saboteur didn't answer him as he slipped off his lap and moved across the room with quick and silenced footsteps, the tactician frowned when he saw his mate cock his head to the side so an audio horn was exposed to the open room beyond. Prowl was about to push himself up from the couch only to find his legs wobbled beneath him, he glared at Jazz only for it to melt into a look of confusion when a smile appeared upon the Solstice's facial plates.

_**::// Love you should hear this, lil Blue is purring.\\::**_ The silver mech told him.

Prowl's frown deepened _**::// Purring?\\::**_

_**::// Yea.\\::**_

_**::// But we haven't done anything to . . . .\\::**_ His sentence trailed off when he realised he had not closed the bond between him and their son before Jazz 'attacked' him. The tactician refused to face palm, he knew he would have to try and curb his mate's acts of spontaneous intimate groping unless he could manage to put a block in place so their infant was unaware of what his parents were up to. Jazz however looked as though he had found the answer to all of life's problems.

_**::// Don't know why I didn't think of it earlier.\\::**_ The Solstice said as he peered round the doorway watching their offspring.

Prowl raised a single optic ridg_**e ::// What allowing our son to be traumatised by you groping me?\\::**_

_**::// Prowl for someone so smart an' logical, ya sure are stupid sometimes.\\::**_ Jazz responded, with his attention currently focused upon their creation he happened to miss the glare the Dodge Charger sent in his direction.

_**::// Alright oh smart one, what solution have you just so intelligently come across?\\::**_ Prowl asked sarcastically, his mood visibly brightening.

The Solstice glared good naturedly back at his mate _**::// Ma magnetics.\\::**_

_**::// What about them?\\::**_ The tactician inquired, curious as to what his bonded was up to until it finally dawned upon him especially once his bond-mate sent him a mental visual of what he finally realised himself **_::// oh.\\::_**

_**::// Now you're finally catching on.\\:: **_Jazz said as he made his way over and perched upon the arm of the chair. The pair of them sat in silence for a couple of minutes "I'm gonna go an' see if we got any work waitin' for us in our offices, you gonna be alright stayin' 'ere with Blue?"

"I'll be fine Jazz." Prowl replied as he glanced up at his mate, the saboteur placed a quick kiss upon the golden crest in the middle of his mate's chevron, then pushed himself off the arm of the couch and proceeded out of the room. The Solstice made his way down the corridor, he understood why Prowl was so concerned for their little creation in regards to his developing sensory panels. He had seen the grief fully formed door wings had given his mate every so often, and had on most of the occasions, used his magnetic capabilities to soothe the aches and pains away. And now it seemed he was going to have to do the same for his offspring every time the problem occurred, not that he minded after all it wasn't Bluestreak's fault he had been gifted with the beautiful but troublesome back appendages. Jazz continued down the hallway greeting many of the humans who walked past him as they went about their usual daily routines, although he did frown when he noticed a couple of humans glanced up at him in apprehension before scurrying away. The saboteur simply shrugged it off as he continued on his way, they were probably some of the new additions to the base and were a little anxious in being up close and personal with giant alien robotic lifeforms. But the Solstice couldn't help the niggling thought at the back of his mind that suggested something wasn't quite right. He entered the door code to his own office but didn't enter straight away instead he glanced down the corridor with a frown still marring his facial plates, his instincts were badgering him now and usually when they did, it meant something was just about to go down. He felt Prowl poke tentatively at his end of the bond, confused and concerned thoughts filtering through their link, Jazz reassured him that he was fine before stepping into his office and collecting the small pile of data-pads that sat there awaiting his attention.

The saboteur quickly locked his own office before proceeding down to his mate's which was just around the corner, he stepped round the junction only to come across a small group of humans stood in the middle of corridor talking amongst themselves. Jazz wouldn't have thought anything about it until they all glanced at him suspiciously before separating and going their own ways, that same niggling feeling from before was starting to make itself more prominent whilst his instincts began screaming at him to return to quarters just to reassure himself his mate and child were still safe. The saboteur quickly collected any work awaiting the tactician's attention before he rushed back through the hallways down to the residential section, he narrowly avoided stepping upon a couple of humans in his haste. The silver mech could hear Red Alert demanding to know why he was rushing through the corridors as if his aft was on fire, but Jazz didn't acknowledge him, he was more concerned about getting back to his quarters. The Solstice punched in the code and barely gave the doors the chance to open before he slid through them and into the main living area, he almost ran into Prowl when the Dodge Charger quickly made his way over to the doorway. The black and white mech had felt the distress through their shared link and had immediately set up a block to prevent the turmoil raging through his mate's spark to disturb the sparkling's recharge.

"Jazz?" The tactician asked as he gripped the silver mech's right elbow joint.

"Prowl, I'm getting' a bad vibe." Jazz replied, he was half tempted to call Optimus and call off the ceremony this afternoon "ma instincts are screamin' at me, that somethin's gonna happen."

"Jazz the entire base has been on high alert for the past few days, combined with the limited recharge we've had just recently, its easy to become paranoid about anything." The Dodge Charger tried to reassure his mate, he knew from past experiences that he shouldn't really doubt the saboteur's instincts as the Solstice was rarely wrong. But it wasn't enough to have the base put on alert, not too mention it would cause further paranoia and suspicion.

"I'm not imaginin' thin's." Jazz snapped with more force than he intended. However his anger didn't last long when he saw a hurt look upon his mate's facial plates, his shoulders sagged as he glanced away "Prowler I'm sorry, I didn't mean ta . . . ."

The tactician turned the saboteur's head so their gazes met "I know, and apology accepted." He offered a small smile to his bonded "now in your haste to return to me and our son, did you happen to pick up any work that was awaiting my attention?"

Jazz cocked his head to the side in an imitation of an eye roll before he reached into his sub-space where he had stowed the data-pads "I swear, you love your work more than me sometimes."

The black and white mech took the pads from the silver mech and started toward the couch "Hardly." He glanced over his shoulder "now if you don't distract me and allow me to get through these reports, you can have my full attention afterwards."

Jazz trailed after him "Not as simple as that any more love." Prowl cocked a single optic ridge at that, the saboteur gestured in the direction of the sparkling's room.

"Then we shall just have to pawn him off to the twins for the night." The tactician suggested.

The saboteur glanced at him curiously "Ya sure ya feelin' alright Prowler? Ya just suggested that we give lil Blue to the twins ta look after." The silver mech reached out with a clawed hand intending to rest it against the Dodge Charger's forehead only for the appendage to be swatted away.

"I have my reasons for suggesting them." Prowl told him as he activated the data-pad he had finally managed to procure from his mate.

"Such as?" Jazz inquired as he removed the report from his bonded's grasp so he could have his full attention, the tactician sighed and frowned at the Solstice.

The Dodge Charger attempted to reach for the data-pad only for the saboteur to move it out of his reach "I suggested them merely because whilst they are looking after Bluestreak, they'll behave themselves which in turn means we get more time to ourselves."

"Now see why I wanted them as Blue's guardians." The Solstice shifted slightly in his seat but didn't offer his bonded the data-pad he had stole from him.

"Hmm." Prowl gave his mate a side long glance before moving swiftly and catching Jazz completely off guard, he pinned the saboteur to the couch before retrieving the report his spark-mate had stolen from him. The tactician didn't shift in his position as he held the data-pad in front of the saboteur "now may I get on with my work?"

Jazz threw him a lazy smile "I'm thinkin' about it."

"Bearing in mind, you also have reports to complete and with Bluestreak in recharge, you have the opportunity to get them done before he requires either of our attention." The Dodge Charger told him.

The Solstice frowned at his bonded "Kill joy." Prowl said nothing as he pushed himself up and off the silver mech although not before brushing his right hand against a couple of sensitive armour seams, Jazz scowled at him as he watched the tactician sit himself in the corner of the couch and turn on the data-pad. The saboteur was about to open his mouth plates to make a remark about his bonded's behaviour when a loud squeal came from the sparkling's room, both the Solstice and Dodge Charger glanced at one another before they sighed, they had been hoping Bluestreak would recharge for a couple of more hours. Prowl was about to push himself up and out of the couch to check on the sparkling when Jazz beat him to it, the saboteur crossed the room and peered in making sure that if their creation was fully on-line that he couldn't see him.

_**::// Let me guess?\\::**_ The tactician inquired when he heard the noisy clicks and chirps.

_**::// Yep he's wide awake.\\:: **_The Solstice replied as he watched the little grey infant studied one of his toys before promptly stuffing some part of the stuffed creature's anatomy in his mouth. The stuffed toy only partially muffled the slowly quietening clicks and coos coming from the sparkling's vocaliser, Bluestreak was just about to drift off into recharge again until he heard a clatter upon the floor. Jazz whipped his head round to glare at his spark-mate only to receive one in turn _**::// Prowler, he was just about ta go back ta sleep.\\::**_

_**::// Well I wouldn't have knocked them off if you had placed them somewhere else.\\:: **_The Dodge Charger chided him as he picked up the data-pads that had fallen to the floor, Jazz shook his head before turning his attention to their creation. Bluestreak was whimpering now after being startled by the loud clatter, the saboteur stepped into the room only for the sparkling's cries to escalate more once he saw his spark carrier. The Solstice reached into the crib and plucked the little grey infant and his blanket out and settled him into the crook of his right elbow, Jazz immediately began murmuring words of comfort to Bluestreak whilst he stroked the back of the sparkling's helm with his left hand. The sparkling huddled in as close as he possibly could to the warm plating of his spark carrier's chest before giving a contented warble. The Solstice smiled down at his son as he stepped out of the sparkling's room, his gaze met Prowl's as the tactician pushed himself out of the couch and came to stand just in front of his mate, Bluestreak clicked sleepily at his sire when he saw the familiar black and white frame of his father. But the little grey infant refused to allow recharge to claim him even with the soothing strokes upon his helm, and the soft humming coming from his daddy.

_**::// I'm gonna go for a walk an' see if I can get 'im in ta recharge.\\:: **_The saboteur informed his spark-mate.

The Dodge Charger smiled down at his creation when he heard soft clicks and coos _**::// Just don't venture anywhere near the twins just yet for the love of Primus.\\:**_:

_**::// I won't, believe me I want Blue ta sleep now so he'll be in a good mood later, an' I know it won't happen if Sideswipe gets his mits on 'im.\\::**_ Jazz said as he powered up his magnetics on the lowest possible setting in hopes that they might be able to lull the sparkling into recharge.

_**::// Don't be gone too long, after all you have your own work to attend too.\\::**_ Prowl replied as he smoothed a hand over his son's helm.

The saboteur cocked his head to the side in an imitation of an eye roll _**::// Yea, yea I know, they'll get done.\\::**_ The Solstice gently nuzzled the little grey infant's helm earning him a contented hum from the sparkling _**::// we'll be back as quick as we can.\\::**_ The tactician nodded as he stepped back a couple of steps as Jazz turned to leave the room, the Dodge Charger watched as his mate left the room before he stepped across to the couch where the reports awaiting his attention sat. He knew as Bluestreak got older his work ethics would have to change since the sparkling would not only need his spark carrier's attention, but his sire's as well. Prowl was about to sit down upon the couch when he glanced at the data-pads strewn unceremoniously across its surface, then he transferred his gaze toward the main doorway. With his decision made, the tactician turned away from the couch and strode across the room before palming the pad on the wall, the doors whooshed open and he stepped out into the hallway. The reports could wait until later, but for now he wanted to be with his spark-mate and child. After all they were far more important than a few simple reports.

* * * * * * * * * *

**Early Afternoon . . . .**

Major William Lennox tugged at the collar of his dress uniform trying to loosen the almost choking sensation round his neck, he hated wearing the military dress uniform he just didn't feel comfortable wearing it at all. He knew he wasn't the only one as he watched Robert Epps tug at his sleeves and rolling his shoulders whilst ignoring his wife who was telling him to 'pack it in or she'd kick his ass', Grahams didn't seem the least bit bothered although Will could tell him looked uncomfortable as well. After all they spent most of their time wearing their everyday gear or civilian clothes, however General Morshower had insisted that they be smartly dressed for the occasion. Will glanced at his wife beside him who offered him a small smile, they were Annabelle less for the day as they had dropped their five year old daughter off at Sarah's sister's house before Ironhide brought them to the base. Epps had done the same with his five kids, dropping them off at a cousin of his then made his way to the base with his wife, Optimus had allowed them to bring their children to the base but both army rangers decided not to bring them in case there was another incident.

The Major glanced across the room to see General Morshower was talking with Secretary of Defence Keller before his gaze fell upon Sam and his family, the boy's mother was fussing over him making sure that the suit he was wearing was kept clean whilst the elder Witwicky male attempted to keep Judy from pestering their son too much. Sam's saving grace came in the form of his robotic guardian Bumblebee who picked the young lad up and settled him upon his left arm, Will watched in amusement as Judy began lecturing the yellow Camaro about the way he was holding the younger Witwicky male. After all she didn't want the scout ruffling let alone creasing Sam's suit, Lennox was suddenly glad that he didn't have a mother who fussed over him all the time. After all it was bad enough when Ironhide acted all overprotective when his human charge and his comrades were threatened, especially after the Galloway incident a week ago. It had taken almost an hour to convince the weapons specialist that they were all fine despite being roughly handled by the unknown soldiers. It had been since then that the Autobots with human charges had kept an even closer optic on them in order to make sure neither them or their families became victims of blackmail should Galloway want anything further from their alien allies.

Will shifted his gaze from the Witwicky family to the blue and white form of Mirage, the spy was currently stood to the back of the room with arms folded across the pristine plating of his armoured chest, he had been keeping out of the way, but it appeared all that was going to change the moment Arcee entered the room. The pink femme had noticed he was alone and decided to engage him in conversation, no matter how flat or boring it might be. Lennox had noticed in the time he had spent working alongside the Ford GT, that Mirage preferred to be alone unless he was working as part of a team then it was different. However the Major had noticed a change in his behaviour ever since the tracking specialist Hound had arrived on Earth a few months ago, the spy had relaxed visibly once his spark-mate had appeared. Lennox was not in the least bit surprised as he could understand the Ford GT's apprehension, after all he too had felt near enough the same anxiety when he had been stationed out in the middle east a few years back, wondering whether he would make it home to see Sarah or his baby daughter.

Will was drawn out of his thoughts when he heard a pair of raised voices just down the corridor, he glanced across to the doorway to see Sideswipe storm into the room. The red Lamborghini's frame was tense and shaking with barely restrained anger, Lennox had to look twice when he saw the youngest twin as the front-liner's paint and finish had been buffed to the highest standard, in fact he looked as though he had just rolled off the assembly line. No doubt it was the handy-work of his twin who was somewhat obsessed about how he looked, the Major likened him to a vain teenage girl. There were a few areas on Sideswipe's armour where the wax hadn't been rubbed in properly and left pale red smudges upon the Lamborghini's finish, obviously the front-liner had, had enough of his brother 'pampering ' him and fussing over his paint work. Will just hoped that if Sunstreaker ever decided to settle down with someone, that he would not subjugate his kids to the same treatment. Suddenly both ebony eye brows rose upwards when a thought dawned upon the Major. He really hoped the gold Lamborghini didn't have plans to pamper Bluestreak before his 'christening' ceremony, or they would have one grumpy sparkling on their hands and he was pretty sure Prowl and Jazz had enough to deal with their creation acting up at the moment.

Lennox glanced in Ironhide's direction and shot the weapons specialist a disapproving look when the black mech said something to the red Lamborghini, Sideswipe glared and growled at Ironhide in return before stomping across to the large couch and plonked himself in it. Will knew the front-liner's sour mood was only going to get worse especially now that Sunstreaker had stormed into the room, the gold Lamborghini immediately zeroed in on his twin the moment he saw him, and cajoled Sideswipe into having the last of his finish completed. The red Lamborghini only relented to his brother harassing him because Jazz had stepped into the room with a fully alert sparkling, Prowl was not far behind his spark-mate and child. Will couldn't help but notice how proud the tactician seemed when he was around his little one.

"Will he is so adorable." Sarah said the moment she saw the little grey infant poke his head out of the top of the ceremonial shroud he was encased in. Bright baby blue optics darted about the room trying to take in everything.

"Hun he's adorable until he has a temper tantrum." Will replied.

Sarah nudged him playfully in the ribs "You said the same thing about Annie and you still think she'd adorable, even though you made a hasty retreat the last time you were home and she threw a paddy."

"I thought you were the best suited to diffuse the situation." The Major said whilst trying to salvage the tattered remains of his pride.

"Dude you mean to tell me that your so called adorable five year old daughter scared you into beating a hasty retreat?" Epps began as he approached his superior whilst trying to hold in a laugh "you, whom have faced down giant evil robotic aliens who could kill you in a split second, is afraid of Annie when she has a temper tantrum?" Will glared at his fellow soldier.

"You are not one to talk Robert Epps." Monique Epps scolded her husband.

"Yes but there's one difference between the Major an' me woman." Epps began "he only has one kid, we have an army."

Monique Epps sighed "Five hardly counts as an army Robert besides your lucky you don't have to live with them twenty four seven."

"Hmm yes you boys have it far too easy." Sarah Lennox replied as she stood beside the other woman, both she and Epps' wife had become fast friends after their husbands had returned from their supposed 'tour in Iraq', and would often spend weekends when their other halves weren't around.

A deep chuckle resonated from behind them and the four turned to see Ironhide making his way over "Your femmes are just as scary as our own."

"We have to be, its the only way to keep you lot in line." Judy Witwicky said adding her own two cents as she and Ron made their way over, the elder Witwicky male looked none too happy about being involved in a squabble between the sexes. But that didn't mean he wasn't prepared to defend the male race if need be.

Will Lennox cleared his throat "Anyway this is supposed to be a happy day, we can squabble later." He directed those words at his fellow soldier as he knew Epps had a knack for chewing on things, refusing to let the matter drop. He watched the master sergeant for a few more seconds before turning his attention to his wife who was smiling at him "besides didn't you want to meet Bluestreak?"

"Yes I did." Sarah replied as she looped her arm around one of the Major's before resting her blonde head on his shoulder and smiling serenely up at him.

"Urgh think I'm gonna purge my tanks with all this lovey doveyness." Sideswipe grumbled as he stalked past the group of humans with his twin close behind him, whom was still badgering him about his finish. Will was waiting for the first fist to fly but hoped it didn't, after all both twins needed to be present for the ceremony. The Major pulled his wife over to where the tactician and the saboteur were stood talking to Arcee and Mirage, the latter of the two currently holding a loudly chirping Bluestreak. The Dodge Charger turned and glanced down when he detected the two humans close by and knelt down upon one knee.

"Major Lennox." Prowl greeted the NEST soldier first before glancing at the blonde haired woman stood beside Will "Sarah Lennox."

"Prowl if I remember rightly?" Sarah inquired.

"You remember correctly." The black and white mech replied.

"And of course Jazz . . . Mirage?" The blue and white mech nodded before continuing his clicking at the sparkling who was happily answering him back with loud chirps and coos "and?"

The pink femme tore her gaze from the little grey infant to glance at the Major's wife "Arcee ma'am."

"And their newest addition." Will said.

Sarah chuckled at the sparkling's enthusiastic behaviour "I can see why you called him Bluestreak, it suits him perfectly."

"Yea kid never shuts up when he's on-line." Jazz saw Prowl's disapproving look "what? It's true!"

"Yes and I know exactly where he got it from." The tactician replied as he stood up, both Will and Sarah had situated themselves on his hand so they could both see Bluestreak much better.

"Well they always say the first child is always like their mother." Sarah said then she realised something and she frowned "uh would you call yourself his mother?"

The saboteur glared at his mate when he heard a faint chuckle escape the Dodge Charger's vocaliser "No I'm 'is spark carrier, creator, progenitor, whatever ya wanna call me. But the next fragger who calls me his mother is gonna get slagged, I'm his dad an' that's the way its gonna stay."

"So that makes Prowl?"

"His father." The tactician told the blonde haired woman, Sarah glanced at her husband slightly confused but Will simply mouthed to her that he would explain it all to her later preferably with Ironhide's help since the weapons specialist would be able to explain more fully about how Bluestreak came into existence. Sarah Lennox watched from her perch as Jazz took his son from Mirage and curled him against his chest plate when the happy sparkling turned into an unhappy one, it didn't take long for the Solstice to soothe his infant into a light doze.

"It's time." Ironhide rumbled as he took both his human charges from Prowl, then carried them across to one of the balconies so they could watch the ceremony without having to crane their necks. Bumblebee did the same with Sam, Mikaela and the two elder Witwicky's before joining his comrades, the attending Autobots formed a single line according to rank with gap in the middle. Bluestreak chirped and whirled in the silence that had descended upon the recreation room, there were a few amused smiles from Cybertronian and human alike. The little grey sparkling continued to chirp and whirl as he glanced around curiously before clicking in excitement when he saw Optimus and Ratchet enter the room. Prime couldn't help but smile at the infant's antics as he made his way to the front of the assembled group, his fellow Autobots all stood to attention at the sight of their commander. Even the humans military showed their respects to Optimus by standing to attention and saluting him.

"At ease." Optimus told them, he waited for his comrades and the humans to relax before he began "we are gathered here on this day to bless and welcome our newest addition to the family." The Prime smiled at the small family and let an amused chuckle escape his vocaliser at the loud clicks and chirps still coming from Bluestreak "I have been asked as a descendant of the Primes, to bless and to recognise Bluestreak as one of Primus' children so that if the unfortunate should ever happen, he will be accepted into the well of all sparks." The semi Peter-built uttered something in Cybertronian that had his fellow comrades placing a single hand upon the armour covering their sparks. Optimus then moved to one of the tables that had been set up for the ceremony and where a medium sized crystal bowl (courtesy of Mirage) filled with water was sat, he began reciting the covenant of Primus over it, the Prime had also made sure to translate it into English so they humans could get an insight into their own religious culture. The humans were clearly fascinated by what was going on and watched as the semi Peter-built finished his monologue before calling Jazz forward with Bluestreak, the saboteur gently handed the small grey infant over to his leader and stepped back. The sparkling's litany of clicks, coos and chirps went silent as Optimus shifted his tiny cargo to the crook of his left arm, the Prime smiled down at Bluestreak as he dipped two of his fingers into the bowl of cool water.

The Prime then gently pressed his index finger to the infant's head and drew a small, ancient Cybertronian symbol upon the crest of his forehead, Bluestreak whirled in curiosity although his tiny frame shuddered at the cold sensation "In the name of Primus and the first thirteen, I bless you Bluestreak and pray that your journey in life is an adventure in its self and that you will look for guidance and tutelage from those close to you when you find yourself in troubled times." He drew the other symbol upon the exposed part of the sparkling's chest, right above his spark chamber. Bluestreak clicked at the large mech as Optimus shifted him so one hand was settled under his helm and the other under his aft before he presented him to the gathered Autobots and humans "I'd like you all to greet our newest family member; Bluestreak." The little grey infant clicked and cooed nervously as the assembled Autobots uttered their own greetings to him whether in Cybertronian or in the humans native tongue, even the humans greeted the sparkling and offered him their own prayers and small words. Optimus prompted one of Bluestreak's creators to come forward and collect him just as the infant began to whimper unhappily and shift restlessly in his grip, Prowl stepped forward and collected his son before returning to his bond-mate's side cooing softly to the sparkling whilst he sent loving and reassuring thoughts of their shared link. It seemed Primus granted them a small reprieve as Bluestreak fell quiet and into a light doze, the Prime smiled before turning his attention back to the proceedings.

After handing the sparkling over to his sire, Optimus turned to where the twins stood with their hands clasped behind their backs and feet shoulder width apart "Sunstreaker, Sideswipe step forward please."

* * * * *

Whilst the ceremony was taking place in the recreation room, two humans dressed in electrician overalls made their way down the interconnecting corridors as they made their way to their destination, they nodded their acknowledgement when they passed other base personnel before they turned off at a junction. One of them stepped up toward the doors of the power room and swiped the confiscated key card through the slot whilst the other kept watch at the corner. The large doors whooshed open to the room beyond. Both 'electricians' stepped inside taking in the combination of Cybertronian and human technology that had been designed to work as one, they had both familiarised themselves with the tech in the few months they had been there and quickly set to work. They knew they would have to set the device away from the power core as the energy field it gave off prevented any sort of tampering, but what it did not protect it from was a complete shut down brought on by sabotage. They separated again so one could fix the device and set it to remotely go off whilst the other kept watch. With quick and practised ease, the device was attached and the two humans left leaving no trace that they had ever been there.

* * * * *

**Recreation room . . . .**

Both twins stepped forward and knelt before their Prime, the pair bowed their heads and crossed an arm over their chests as if they were pledging their allegiance to which they really were, just not to their leader this time. The age old tradition of assigning guardians or caretakers had been practised through the ages on their planet, with progenitors choosing and naming the mechs or femmes who would look after their offspring should anything happen to them. The humans had compared the choosing of guardians or caretakers to their own version; picking a Godparent.

Optimus glanced down at the pair before him before transferring his gaze to Prowl and Jazz who nodded as one, it was their consent for their leader to continue "Sunstreaker, Sideswipe, it has come to my attention that you have been named as Bluestreak's guardians. Therefore from this moment forth I ask for you to show the same loyalty you have for your comrades to our newest member." The Prime glanced across to where the loudly chirping sparkling was situated in his 2IC's arms before turning his attention back to the twins "as his appointed guardians, your duties to Bluestreak will be to teach him, to guide him and offer him comfort when his creators can not, but most of all to protect him from harm no matter the costs."

Both Lamborghinis glanced up at their leader, each had a determined look upon their facial plates "Yes Sir."

"In order for you both to be recognised as Bluestreak's guardian, you will need to be . . . ." Optimus was cut off mid sentence when the base alert sounded before the intercom. alerted everyone to what was transpiring.

_**:: We have multiple Decepticon contacts!:: **_Red Alert broadcasted across the entire base _**:: all personnel report to their unit commanders for further orders.::**_

"What the slag?" Ironhide demanded "those fraggers would pick now ta show their fraggin' ugly face plates." The weapons specialist missed the glare Prowl shot in his direction for the use of foul language in front of his more than alert infant, although Bluestreak was hardly paying attention to the GMC Top kick truck as he chirred unhappily at his sire.

"Red Alert status report?" Optimus asked as he and the others made their way out of the recreation room.

_**:: Long range sensors have detected a group of at least ten Decepticons entering Earth's atmosphere as we speak, also the patrol team have reported that they have been ambushed by Barricade and an assault team several miles from here.:: **_The security chief reported.

"Understood." The Prime replied as the large group continued down the hallway with the humans close behind them "Prowl, I want you to take Sideswipe and Wheeljack to provide back up for the patrol team." His tactician nodded his acknowledgement of his orders and set off, but not before he touched foreheads with his mate and offered him comforting words.

"I think a human unit should go along too Optimus." Will Lennox suggested "Epps take Graham and the beta team, then join Prowl and the others."

"You got it." Epps replied before taking off with Grahams and a team beta whom he called over the comm.'s, whilst the Autobot's leader informed his 2IC that a human unit would be joining him and his team in providing back up for the patrol unit.

"Mirage, Bumblebee, I want you both to take the humans to one of the underground bunkers and remain there until you are contacted." Optimus instructed the scout and spy, both nodded before turning and herding the human civilians in the opposite direction, normally Mirage would join the battle but the blue and white Ford GT was still recovering from his wounds from the skirmish in Australia "Jazz. Sunstreaker you both will remain here, I believe I don't need to tell you what your duties are." The gold Lamborghini was about to open his mouth plates to protest about being left behind once again, but knew he was now duty bound to Bluestreak and his protection.

_**:: Prime we have a problem.:: **_Trailbreaker reported over the comm.'s.

"What's happening?" The semi Peter built demanded, never once slowing in his stride to the command centre.

_**::We've lost track of the Decepticons all baring one.::**_ The Defensive strategist responded.

Red Alert voice also appeared over the comm. link _**::He's right Prime, we lost most of them over Canada and Alaska, but we're still detecting one Decepticon signal falling toward the United Kingdom.::**_

"The UK you say?" Keller inquired from the back of the group which had dwindled in numbers as Autobots and humans a like parted to follow through with their orders.

"Looks like you've got a few calls to make to the British, Secretary of Defence Sir." General Morshower said, Keller slowed in his stride. It was the one thing he disliked about his job and that was having to negotiate and 'lie' to their foreign allies, after all the British would no doubt want in on what was happening in their own country. So telling the Brits that they were about to do 'military manoeuvres' upon their tiny island without prior consent was going to be a rough tumble, but it was a challenge they were willing to take on. Fortunately enough they had been lucky with the Australian Government especially with a team so close if not on top of the raw Uranium ore in the outback, that wasn't too say that their officials had been push overs, in fact Keller had, had quite a fight on his hands. However he was fortunate enough that his negotiation skills had worked preventing a national incident that would have the president breathing down his neck.

"We're gonna need an E4* load out General." Lennox said.

"Go get your team ready Major, we'll notify you the moment we get clearance." Morshower replied, Will nodded before abruptly turning about and running down the corridor calling for team Alpha to report to hangar bay Delta niner in fifteen minutes for immediate dispatch.

"I am to assume we will be joining Major Lennox's team to this UK?" Ratchet inquired as he fell into step with his leader, Ironhide flanked their commander on the other side.

"We will, but only once we have this clearance from their government." Optimus replied.

The weapons specialist shifted uneasily next to the semi Peter-built "That's if the fraggers give it, they better do unless they wanna get slagged by the 'cons."

"Ironhide." Ratchet warned as he scowled at his black companion, they all knew how grouchy the black bot could get if he was denied the chance to obliterate some Decepticons with his cannons.

The Prime glanced at his weapons specialist "I'm sure they'll be more than happy to allow us access as long as things don't get destroyed in the process." He directed that at the GMC Top kick truck as he knew Ironhide had a nasty tendency to get carried away when he was killing or maiming the enemy, and most of the times his surroundings tended to suffer more than they did. Particularly like planets such as Kaiver 5*, which Ironhide had decreed at the time was going to blow up anyway, he just helped it along.

The weapons specialist simply cocked his head to the side in an imitation of an eye roll and waved his leader off "Yea, yea."

Optimus simply shook his head in amusement as they entered the command centre, he and the others were immediately bombarded by the alerts appearing upon the monitors and the humans throwing Intel. back and forth across the room. Upon the main monitor, the signal above the small island of Great Britain, the Decepticon signal was still emitting quite clearly. He hoped that whoever it was, was too injured to start creating chaos, it would also given them the opportunity to capture them and uncover why Starscream had returned to Earth. The Prime already had a feeling he knew why he had returned, he just hoped that his or the other Decepticons plans never came to fruition.

* * * * * * * * * *

**A/N: **Well I promised **OptimusPrime007** with fluff between Bluestreak and his daddies so there you go hun. And what are the humans up to? Stay tuned for the next one!

- I'm pretty sure something like this is mentioned in Ghost in the Shell 1st or 2nd gig, which is therefore owned by its respective owners

- Kaiver 5 if that's how its spelt meh if its not, was mentioned in the first Transformers game when Optimus is 'advising' Ironhide to be careful so to speak.

I got fed up of re-writing the 'baptism' scene over and over again, so I gave up, sorry if it seems a bit pants, I might improve on it at a later stage.

Read & Review!


	14. Assault on Tranquillity Base

And here is the next chapter!

**Warnings:** Use of profanities, violence and a slight bit of gore **Contains spoilers for Transformers Return of the Fallen prequel comic**

**Disclaimer**: Not mine, I just toy with with them and hand them back in less than pristine condition.

_'Blah' – thoughts_

_**::Blah:: - Radio Communication**_

_:/blah\: - Inter. comm._

_**:://Blah\\:: Bond communication**_

* * * * * * * * * *

Agent Charles Whitlow hated being stationary for long periods of time, he preferred to be on the constant move, doing things that would distract him from thinking along the lines of how quickly he could top himself. Not that he would of course, but it didn't stop him from thinking it as he sighed for the umpteenth time that day just to break the near dam impenetrable silence in the SUV. His companion Agent Jack Mayweather was much better suited for this kind of work than he was, however because of their skill set, both Simmons and Salazar believed they would make an ideal team.

_'How wrong were they?' _Charles thought as he slouched in the front passenger seat of the SUV they had been given to conduct surveillance in. So far they had not witnessed anything unusual come from the base except for two Lamborghinis; one red, the other gold, being chased by a big black GMC Top kick Truck who was covered in bright orange pokka dots. Of course they and the surveillance teams that replaced them, had to change their locations in order to avoid being discovered by the Autobot patrol teams. And so far they had avoided being discovered as they knew their presence there was vital for the extraction of NBE-28 to take place. Whitlow shifted himself in his seat for the umpteenth time that afternoon, his legs were becoming cramped and his back was starting to ache. His companion glanced at him with an irritated look upon his face before turning to the small laptop screen in front of him.

"That's it I'm going for a walk." Charles said as he unbuckled his seat belt.

"We were given explicit instructions that we remain here in order to evade being discovered." Mayweather reminded the older EDF agent. Whitlow didn't appear to listen to his comrade as he opened the passenger side door and stepped outside. Immediately he was greeted with a brisk cold wind that had him grabbing his coat off the back seat of the SUV.

"I'll be back in five minutes." Whitlow said as he shut the door and stepped away from the SUV, but not before hearing Agent Mayweather grumble something under his breath. Charles drew his coat in closer as he made his way down the small pavement, his gaze focused upon the base entrance across the road from him. Normally it was well concealed in the summer with the leaves on the trees blocking out much of the view, but with it now being winter, the high fence and the main gate could just be seen. One could mistaken the turn off as being an old road if not for the multiple signs stating that it was a military base and that trespassers would be shot on sight. It was amazing how the residents of Tranquillity hadn't suspected that something strange was happening inside the recommissioned Air Force Base, although Whitlow knew that if they raised any questions or concerns, the Government would smooth it over with some cover story. However he and the others from the disbanded Sector Seven knew that it wouldn't be long before one of their so called alien visitors slipped up exposing them all and their operations. They had come close to happening a couple of months back when two of the Autobots were attacked upon a stretch of highway not far from where he was, of course NEST had been quick to move in and cover up the situation stating it was a 'military incident involving one of their projects'. Naturally a few photos and videos taken by bystanders had been posted to the internet for the whole world to see but they didn't last long, as the government tracked each of them down and deleted them removing all trace evidence that an alien species co-existed with them on their world.

Charles continued to walk down the small pavement with his hands stuffed into his pockets, he knew a small contingency were posted not far from their location, as NBE-30 aka Sideways so helpfully informed them under the influence of one of Salazar's control chips, that more of his fellow Decepticons could possibly be making their appearance on Earth at some point today. Which was exactly the sort of distraction they needed in order to draw out as many of the Autobots as they could so they could make the extraction, they had already seen three of them leave the base, no doubt to commence their usual daily ground and air patrol around and over Tranquillity and its surrounding areas. That had been a few hours ago and they still hadn't made their return, although their contacts in the city told them they had seen NBE-3 aka a Decepticon called Barricade inside Tranquillity but an hour ago.

Whitlow glanced back at the SUV parked a few yards a way and could see his comrade watching him from the corner of his eye before turning back to the laptop sat in front of him monitoring the feeds that they had managed to set up. He glanced back toward the Tranquillity base in time to hear the sound of high performance engines, he saw a black and white Dodge Charger emerge from the gates followed by a red Lamborghini and a white Lancia Stratos, behind them were several small NEST vehicles with a fully decked out human unit. Charles immediately began running back to the SUV where he wrenched open the passenger side door.

"What's happening?" He asked.

His companion shot him a pointed look "If you had been here, you would have been apprised of the situation."

"Yea, yea stuff it for later." Whitlow replied as he grabbed the laptop from Mayweather and began skimming through the readings "looks like our satellites in orbit have detected several unknown objects making their way through the planets atmosphere."

Jack wrenched the laptop from his comrade "Not too mention the sudden NBE activity several miles from here, a clean up crew is already on their way."

"Which was probably where the Autobot NBE's and a NEST team were headed." Whitlow replied as he grabbed the other laptop from the back seat and opened the lid drawing the piece of equipment out of hibernation.

"How many NBE's left the base?" Mayweather inquired.

"Three." Charles replied as he brought up the Autobot manifest list which contained everything about each and every one of them "which were the tactician, red front-liner and the engineer." He highlighted them in red as he had done the previous three "that makes six, we just need to get rid of the other nine."

"Put the assault team on alert, they'll want to move out on a moment's notice." Jack instructed his comrade before he was drawn to his own portable computer when a message flashed up in the right hand corner. He opened it to find it was a message from one of their spies inside the NEST base, it was all written in code so it couldn't be easily discerned by an outside force. Mayweather simply ran it through a translation programme, the end result drew a smile out of him "also inform HQ that we'll be bringing them a special package back home tonight." Charles glanced at him curiously before the other agent turned the laptop round to face him, both ebony eyebrows rose upwards when he saw the message flashing upon the screen.

_'NEST team comprising of NBE's- 7, 9 & 10 embarking to the UK, only five Autobots remain'_

Of course five Autobots were still a force to be reckoned with, probably more so when an infant of their species was involved. But they had created a few effective weapons that would combat them should they have to engage them in combat, ones they knew would cause more destruction than necessary but it was a risk they were willing to take. The two humans continued to monitor the readouts upon their laptops and keeping the assault team updated on what was going on inside the NEST base, after all they needed to know exactly what was going on so they could be prepared for it. It wasn't long before the two EDF agents heard the loud roaring of a large plane's engines, the pair of them glanced out of the main window screen to see a C17 taking off. The plane's take off was quickly followed by a message from one of their spies informing them of the location of the other five Autobots in the base, however the two agents were more concerned about where the Cybertronian infant was so his extraction could be easy and flawless with a few if next to none in regards to casualties on both sides.

"Agent Flint, the NEST team en route to the UK have left the base, you have a go." Mayweather informed the assault team.

_**:: Understood.:: **_Came the reply. Charles Whitlow reached for his small PDA and sent a message to the team already inside, giving them the command to plunge the base into darkness. Both agents set down their equipment and jumped out of the SUV so they and the agents who had been sitting in the back could get ready to gear up and join the others in their carefully planned extraction.

* * * * *

Inside of the base, the two technicians that had set up the device activated the remote detonator. The high EMF pulse that radiated outwards from the carefully crafted weapon took out the main power core and plunged the base into total darkness. Although what they had not counted on was that in the last security upgrade to the base, the Autobot's security director had ensured that in the event of an attack or sabotage, the blast doors would drop down securing the base. But the only disadvantage of that being was that those trapped in the hallways would have no escape unless somehow they managed to get themselves up into the ventilation ducts. The red emergency lighting came on a few moments later providing those trapped and confused with enough light to evaluate the situation. In four different areas of the base, both Cybertronian and humans alike were taken by complete surprise by the sudden power failure and either rushed to track down the problem, get the humans they had been entrusted with to safety, try and make contact with the outside world, or head into the deepest recesses of the base by using a route that did not include blast doors getting in the way. But the one thing they all had in common; they all important information or individuals to protect from the enemy.

* * * * *

Everything was swiftly moving into motion as the EDF cut off the highway a couple of miles back, diverting the traffic away from the base whilst only allowing their own vehicles through. Then once they had half a mile stretch of road secure, the assault team moved in. The two guards stood at the entrance of the base were swiftly taken out by a pair of hidden snipers then moved by a pair of ground bound humans. Quick but effective means of communication through hand signals had units moving into position and vehicles moving, after all they did not expect to be able to take NBE-28 without a fight. They moved silently and well executed manoeuvres to keep themselves from being detected by any personnel above ground, normally the base grounds would normally be busy with soldiers marching or jogging laps up and down one of the runways. But not today, most of the personnel had headed underground, no doubt as a precaution in case the Decepticons decided to attack the base once they managed to locate it, there were a few NEST individuals still above ground whom they took out quickly and silently before they could raise the alarm then the EDF unit pressed forward.

The EDF assault group poured onto the main grounds of the NEST base with the Landmine units and a large white military truck following closely behind, their surprise attack took the soldiers out on the asphalt completely unawares. The startled soldiers were shot down with tranquilliser darts since they had been instructed not to take human life whilst on their important mission, but their comrades became more prepared as they took up defensive positions near and inside the main hangar that led into the underground. Agent Salazar stepped out of one of the vehicles and stepped away as the first began its transformation, it was closely followed by the others until all the Landmine units had taken on their bipedal forms. They were practically sparkless drones directed by preprogrammed commands given to them back at the base, each of them moved forwards stepping over their human counterparts as they started for the base. The NEST personnel flailed for a moment, taken by complete surprise that this invading force were allied with and using Earth born Transformers, however they quickly countered by firing normal rounds into them until they managed to commandeer high yield sabot rounds from the NEST vehicles parked in one of the other hangars. A couple of the Landmine units fell as they were unprepared for the unexpected attack, however the others quickly learned and executed offensive and defensive manoeuvres to stay out of the line of fire.

Salazar was quickly becoming frustrated, since NEST had pulled out the big guns, he knew they needed to get through their defences in order to retrieve the smaller NBE but that wasn't going to happen when their Landmine units were being taken down. That and from out of nowhere NBE-2 had arrived on the scene, the yellow Camaro immediately began firing at the drone units, aiding his comrades in defending the base. Salazar growled in the back of his throat as another one of the transformed Earth vehicles was shot down so it became nothing more than a smouldering heap upon the asphalt.

"Wreckage execute code nine delta Charlie, remember that you are to retrieve NBE-28, but if anyone should stand in your way . . terminate them." He commanded through the walkie talkie he pulled out of his jacket's top pocket, the large white military vehicle behind him shuddered before internal mechanics began to hum to life. It changed from a simple vehicle to a lethal killing machine in seconds. The large white Decepticon instantly swivelled blood red optics upon the problematic Autobot and opened fire, Salazar watched as Bumblebee had no choice but to throw himself into an awkward sideways roll to avoid being hit. However his flight put several of his human comrades in danger of being killed, but it they would have been injured regardless as the laser fire tore through the thick metal sheets that formed the hangar bay, fires erupted as vulnerable objects inside caught a light or where destroyed. Wreckage continued to fire upon the scout as he moved forward, he shook off the sabot rounds that scored his thick armour. In retaliation he fired upon them taking them out before they realised the potential danger they had put themselves in, the large white Decepticon reached the hangar and gripped the edges of torn open metal sheets and ripped them open further so he could gain access to the inside. He was instantly met with further resistance from the humans but they were quickly swatted like flies as he trudged across to the blast doors that allowed access to the underground levels. Wreckage wedged his fingers in the slight gap and pulled, the doors creaked upon their rollers before they screeched as the large Decepticon tore them open. Now there was nothing between him and his goal.

* * * * *

**Lower recesses of the base . . . .**

No one rarely ventured into the underground during normal circumstances but with an incursion taking place topside, it appeared to be the safest place at that current moment in time. The corridors and the open storage rooms were dark although the red glow of the emergency lighting provided some light to the eerie atmosphere, Jazz nervously shifted from one foot to the other whilst bouncing a very unhappy Bluestreak upon his arms. Sunstreaker had taken up position near the doorway with rifle pointed at the ready, his gaze was fully focused upon the hallway in front of him although he did spare the Solstice a quick side long glance every now and again. Both the saboteur and the front-liner had fled into the underground levels the moment the power had gone out enshrouding the entire base in total blackness, after all it was the gold Lamborghini's duty as guardian to the sparkling to ensure both him and his spark carrier remained safe.

Jazz had wanted to run, to transform into his alt. mode and make a break for it but with the new increase in Decepticons meant that his and Sunstreaker's flight to safety would easily be detected and although both mechs could take whatever was thrown at them, Bluestreak would be too easy a target. So their only option was to flee into the lower recesses of the base and wait out the battle that was raging above ground. No-one had seen it coming, the attack had come so swiftly that the saboteur didn't know who they would be facing however he had a inkling feeling he knew who. With the lights out and their defences taken down, Jazz knew it was a possible a pre-emptive strike by the Decepticons, which had the Solstice continually checking the ventilation ducts into the room for any sign of either Frenzy, Ravage or the small creature known as Reed-man who was deadly to Autobot internals.

"How's Blue holding up?" Sunstreaker inquired as he made another visual sweep of the corridor in front of him, he could hear and feel the battle taking place not far from their position as the sounds of humans shouting, weapons both Cybertronian and human firing, bulkheads collapsing or groaning from the pressure inflicted upon them and loud explosions could be heard. Whilst the walls and floors vibrated and trembled with each impact.

Jazz clutched Bluestreak closer to him as he too heard the escalating battle "Pretty much scared out of his wits, I just hope that whatever is goin' to come through those doors ain't Decepticon."

"In that case we'll pull back further, I refuse to let any fraggin' 'con near Bluestreak." Sunstreaker suggested as he moved from his position and quickly made his way over to Jazz and the sparkling, he gently gripped one of the Solstice's upper arms and pulled him toward the large cargo bay. To their luck it was filled with crates which would provide enough cover should they have to engage in battle, but they both knew the large wooden and metal boxes could easily be used to trap them or worse, severely injure or kill them. Both mechs took defensive positions within the cargo area, Sunstreaker remained on ground level whilst Jazz tested his weight upon a few of the large metal crates so he could get a good vantage point. The saboteur glanced down at his creation and smiled when he saw baby blue optics staring back up at him, the Solstice crouched with his back to the top crate keeping his gaze upon his son, the sparkling was still staring up at him with bright baby blue optics whilst little timid clicks escaped his vocaliser every now and again. Jazz knew Bluestreak was currently focusing upon the bond he shared his creators as both the saboteur and the tactician attempted to reassure and comfort him through their shared link.

_**:/ Jazz?\:**_ The gold front-liner inquired from where he was crouched with his back against the wall next to the main entrance to the room.

_**:/ Everythin's fine Sunny, just tryin' ta keep Blue quiet an' calm.\: **_The silver mech replied as he gently rocked and cooed to his sparkling, the little grey infant seemed content in his spark carrier's arms despite the escalating battle taking place not far from their position. Jazz knew for a certainty that whoever was in the base, knew exactly where they were going. The saboteur felt his fuel pump skip a beat, he really hoped it wasn't Decepticons. Although he briefly did wonder how they would know about Bluestreak's existence until it dawned upon him; Barricade would have alerted them about the Autobot's newest addition. The very real thought that he would have to protect Bluestreak and keep him out of Decepticon hands was becoming a reality, it had taken him a long time but now he truly understood his bonded's fears several months ago. And those anxieties had only grown since Decepticon reinforcements had arrived on Earth.

Jazz smoothed the back of two clawed fingers over the front of the infant's forehead then over the top of the little grey helm. However the small moment between creator and created didn't last long when a loud explosion disturbed the silence that had permeated every nook and cranny of the storage facility. The saboteur peered over the top in time to see Sunstreaker press himself against the wall, his plasma rifle now fully charged and ready for combat. The Solstice's attention however was quickly drawn back to his son when Bluestreak warbled unhappily before small whimpers began to escape his vocaliser, the saboteur tired to reassure and comfort his sparkling, but his efforts were in vain especially now that they could hear loud thundering footsteps approaching. The silver mech prayed to Primus that it wasn't one of the triple changers or heavy hitters, or he and Sunstreaker could be in a heap of trouble and with no reinforcements, they were very likely to lose against them.

_**:/ Sunny ya ready?\: **_Jazz inquired over the comm. link as he transformed his right arm into his plasma cannon and aimed it in the direction of the doorway, he used the half crescent shaped shield to protect not only his vital areas but the most important object; Bluestreak.

_**:/ More than ready, in fact if the fragger doesn't come through this door in the next nano-click, I'm gonna go out there an' slag him first.\:**_ The gold front-liner replied.

Jazz frowned at the response _**:/ I thought Sideswipe was the impatient an' reckless one?\:**_ The saboteur bounced his unhappy sparkling as Bluestreak's whimpers began to escalate.

_**:/ Remind me to tell him you . . . . \:**_ Sunstreaker's words trailed off when a loud explosion rocked the room, Jazz ducked behind the crate as debris was blasted across the open space. The Solstice could just hear the gold front-liner's curses over Bluestreak's terrified cries.

_**:/ Sunny you alright?\:**_ Jazz asked as he peered over the top and glanced across to the entrance, but couldn't see anything through the thick smoke and dust.

There was a burst of static over the open comm. link before an angry voice announced itself _**:/ Just fraggin' peachy, now my slaggin' paintwork has gone to the pits, frag-slaggin'-tastic.\:**_

_**:/ Ya know Prowl would have a few choice words about ya use of language.\:**_ The saboteur said as he used his sensors in order to locate any anomaly, but so far they weren't picking up anything. However his long range scanners were detecting one energy signal, and of all the things it could be, it had to be Decepticon _**:/ Sunny we got company!\: **_He knew the gold Lamborghini would have made a remark about him stating the obvious, but right now they had other things to focus upon.

Sunstreaker dragged himself behind a twisted metal panel that had originally been one of the doors and crouched behind it. He glanced mournfully at his paint work, it had taken a few Earth hours that morning to polish up a good finish, and all it took was a few seconds to ruin it. Angered by that fact, he glanced around the twisted door remnant and focused his optics upon the cloud of smoke and dust, watching and waiting to see who it was about to step through the gaping hole. He could hear Bluestreak's terrified cries intensify before quietening down somewhat, the gold front-liner knew Jazz had been close by initially but now the saboteur had moved further inwards, a manoeuvre Sunstreaker couldn't fault him for. After all the Solstice had to choose flight over fight now least he wanted to put his sparkling in danger.

"Come on fragger." He hissed as he aimed his rifle, ready to fire upon the Decepticon that had invaded their base. The gold Lamborghini was suddenly taken by surprise by a piece of flying debris that smashed against the twisted door, it was sent skidding across the floor and into the first line of crates, Sunstreaker threw himself into an awkward sideways roll before squeezing off a few shots. There was a loud growl before something large and white burst out of the cloud of smoke and dust, and charged in his direction. The front-liner twisted himself into a graceful backwards flip before expertly firing a few rounds into the Decepticon when he landed. A couple of shots impacted the 'con's heavily armoured chest plates making the large white mech stumble back a few paces.

"Lousy Autobot scum!" The Decepticon cursed as he righted himself and brought his own weapons online to take aim. The laser fire missed the gold Lamborghini by mere inches, but instead impacted the first lot of wooden crates that blew apart in a shower of wood splinters and whatever had been inside them at the time. Sunstreaker picked himself up from the floor after diving out of the way and immediately began firing back at Wreckage, he knew he had to draw him away from Jazz and Bluestreak so the saboteur could circle around and escape through the gaping entrance.

"You are no match for me!" The white Decepticon roared as he shook off every round fired into him, the heavy hitter picked up one of the wooden crates and threw it effortlessly in the gold front-liner's direction. Sunstreaker threw himself into an awkward sideways roll to avoid it as it shattered upon the concrete floor spilling its contents, however the gold Lamborghini wasn't quick enough to avoid the next wooden crate Wreckage had hauled up from the ground. The wooden crate smashed when it impacted the floor and sent out dangerous projectiles in every direction, Sunstreaker cursed vehemently when he felt a searing pain in the side of his left thigh. He managed to drag himself behind one of the large metal shipping crates in order to inspect the damage, he brushed off the small splinters covering his frame however his attention was quickly drawn to the slither of wood sticking out between the armour plates of his left thigh.

"Well that's just dandy." The gold front-liner muttered to himself, he gripped the splinter tightly and gave it a tug. He hissed when white hot pain danced up the limb, he knew there was a potential danger that it might have nicked the main energon and coolant lines in his thigh which meant that if he pulled it out, he could risk leaking out entirely. But it was a risk he had to take as he couldn't very well leave it in there, he gripped the slither firmly and didn't even hesitate when he pulled it free. Sunstreaker knew Primus had to be smiling down upon him that day as energon sluggishly pumped out of the wound rather than spurting out like he anticipated it to do.

_**:/ Sunny you alright?\: **_Jazz inquired over the comm. link.

_**:/ Yea for now, just keep Blue away from this fragger.\:**_ Sunstreaker told the saboteur as he removed one of his cleaning rags from sub-space and tore it in half. The gold front-liner stuffed one half into the wound to slow the bleeding whilst he used the much longer piece to tie around his thigh to keep the other bit of cloth in place. Once that was done, he grabbed his rifle and peered round the edge of the crate, Wreckage was still protecting the only way out of the storage room, the gold Lamborghini then scanned the room for any sight of Jazz since he no longer could hear Bluestreak's distressed whimpers _**:/ Jazz where the slag are you?\:**_

_**:/ To ya left and several metres back.\:**_ The Solstice responded.

Sunstreaker pushed himself up into a crouch whilst ignoring the pain in his leg _**:/ Stay there I'm gonna see if I can get big an' ugly to move away from the exit.\:**_

_**:/ Just don't get yourself killed, I don't wanna be th' one to explain ta Sides how ya got yerself slagged.\: **_Jazz told him before switching off the comm. link.

The gold Lamborghini knew the only way he was going to be able to defeat Wreckage was by getting in close as although the heavy hitter was much stronger than him, he was also slower. He crept along to the other side of the crate to see what the Decepticon was up to before making a run toward Wreckage. The large white mech immediately settled blood red optics on him and began opening fire he instant he brought his cannon to bear, Sunstreaker nimbly dodged each round fired at him although a few came close to scoring hits to his gold plating. Wreckage sneered at him before deciding to meet the Autobot head on, however the gold Lamborghini anticipated this and threw himself into a twist in the air and landed behind the white mech, although his left leg wobbled under the pressure and nearly ruined his shit. The Decepticon cursed wildly as he turned only to get a plasma round to the face plates, Wreckage stumbled backwards screeching in pain and clawed at the burning sensation upon his face.

_**:/ Jazz he's distracted, I suggest that you go now.\: **_Sunstreaker told his comrade as he moved in close, he was able to drive in an energon blade into a vulnerable and exposed part upon Wreckage's left flank. But his victory wasn't long lived as the white Decepticon back handed him before firing a round into his right shoulder effectively disabling his gun arm, Sunstreaker stumbled backwards clutching his shoulder wound and was just about to retaliate by firing with his left hand when Wreckage grabbed him by the throat and bodily slammed him up against a metal crate. The front-liner grunted from the impact before trying to loosen the hand wrapped around his throat.

"Pathetic scum, did you honestly think you could fight me?" Wreckage growled at him as he tightened his grip.

"No I was just h-hopin' that you'd roll over and die." Sunstreaker responded sarcastically, the Decepticon grinned nastily at him before he used his free hand to dig the clawed digits into the wound on the Lamborghini's left thigh. The gold front-liner grunted as pain seared through the limb, but he refused to cry out in order to give Wreckage the satisfaction of knowing that he was hurting him. Sunstreaker could feel fresh energon beginning to trickle down his leg and knew he could be in real trouble if the Decepticon had punctured an energon line, the Decepticon ripped his claws out of the front-liner's thigh and raised the limb ready to strike at the Lamborghini's chest plates. However he would not be awarded the satisfaction of ripping Sunstreaker's spark from his chest when a couple of rounds hit him square in the back.

Wreckage growled deep in his throat as he dropped the gold Lamborghini, he spun round to face his attacker only to see a flash of silver disappear behind crate debris that littered the floor. The large white Decepticon knew the other Autobot was trying to escape with the sparkling and decided to intercept him. Wreckage hauled crates out of the way as he chased after Jazz, he saw a glimpse of white cloth and grinned; the fool would not make it to the entrance with his precious cargo. He watched with wicked satisfaction as the saboteur scrambled over debris before he was finally able to reach the gaping hole that had originally been the entrance to the storage room. However the Decepticon was upon him before he was able to escape, Wreckage dived for him and wrapped a clawed hand around one of the Solstice's ankles and pulled. Jazz hit the floor with a solid thud of metal meeting concrete, although he did land in a way so he wouldn't crush his precious cargo beneath his bulk. The large white Decepticon roughly pulled the smaller silver mech toward him, but was surprised when the Autobot lashed out at him with a double edged blade that scored across his chest plates, cutting deep but not deep enough to cause any serious damage. Wreckage snarled and tossed the saboteur back into the storage room by the ankle he had grasped, he was satisfied to hear another wooden crate meet its demise and a pained grunt from the Solstice. The large white Decepticon stomped into the room and hauled a dazed Jazz up from the pile of broken wood by the throat.

"Where is it?" He demanded.

"W-where is what D-deceptiscum?" The saboteur croaked as Wreckage tightened his grip upon the Solstice's throat effectively cutting off the flow of energon to the higher processes.

"Where is the sparkling?" The Decepticon hissed.

Jazz cringed when Wreckage's grip tightened again "D-don't know . . . what y-you're talkin' about."

The large white mech drew him closer and sneered at the silver Autobot in his grasp "If you value your life, you will tell me where he is."

"Not a chance in hell Deceptiscum." The saboteur growled at his enemy, his vision was beginning to fade and his head felt light and fuzzy.

"Wrong choice." Wreckage told him before he tossed the Solstice aside, Jazz bodily slammed into a metal shipping crate and slumped to the ground, barely hanging onto consciousness. The white Decepticon began quietly creeping around, keen audios listening out for any sparkling noises whilst clawed hands flexed. He ripped open wooden crates that hadn't been touched yet before tossing them aside when they revealed no sign of the Autobot infant. He looked in every nook and cranny to locate the sparkling whilst ignoring the persistent communications from Salazar. Wreckage found his temper slowly beginning to escalate as he tore apart another crate, he growled in frustration as he uprooted it and shoved it out of his way. The white Decepticon was just about to go back and torture one of the two Autobots when he heard muffled whimpers, he turned crimson optics in the direction he had heard them come from before he made a move to go and investigate. However he didn't get the chance to go and look when a plasma round hit the wound made by the energon blade, Wreckage cursed wildly as he stumbled before he snapped blood red optics in the perpetrator's direction. He snarled nastily when he saw the silver Autobot stood albeit shakily with half crescent plasma weapon pointed directly at his chest plates.

"There's no way I'm allowin' ya ta place one finger on ma son." Jazz told him, Wreckage turned fully to face him.

"Your creation is valuable to both humans and Decepticons alike." The large white Decepticon began "at first my orders were to extract the sparkling and hand him over to those pitiful excuses for a life form, but when I heard my fellow Decepticons had returned to this back water planet, I decided to circumvent my original orders."

"Ya know Starscream's in charge now, ya boss kicked the bucket a few years back." The saboteur said whilst keeping a firm weapons lock on Wreckage.

"The fallen shall rise again." The Decepticon uttered, the Solstice's frame stiffened when he heard the sentence. He could clearly recall the words spoken to him a few months ago _'they will bring back the lord high protector to rain destruction down upon this planet once again.' _

"Our true leader will return to us once again and we will hunt down each and every one of you pathetic Autobots and terminate you in the most slowest and agonising ways possibly." Wreckage snarled at him "and I will delight in terminating the sparks of your loved ones before I tear you apart."

A surge of over protectiveness swelled in Jazz's spark and anger suffused his frame right before he lashed out with a powerful pulse of magnetics, Wreckage was slammed into a metal shipping crate with such force that he dented it and sent it sliding across the concrete floor with a loud screech. He collapsed onto one of his knees and was just about to start cursing Jazz's heritage all the way back to the original thirteen transformers when he was pinned none too gently against the crate he had uprooted. Wreckage snarled at the approaching Autobot and struggled against the invisible force holding him in place, he could see the strain it was putting upon the saboteur's frame and knew that it wouldn't be too long before it drained him completely.

"Finish me off if you have the ball bearings." The Decepticon growled at him, Jazz sent a powerful surge of magnetics into Wreckage's frame which immediately had the white mech screaming in pain as circuits shorted out and energon and coolant lines ruptured inside the inflicted area. The saboteur twisted his hand to the side which wrenched several components inside of Wreckage that had the mech crying out again. The Decepticon regained his composure as he attempted to shake off the pain infusing his form, he chuckled darkly as mech fluid trickled out from the corner of his mouth components and down his chin "if I didn't know any better . . its seems you delight . . . in bringing others pain." He watched as the silver mech drew closer with a murderous glint to his optics "what's to say that y-you won't . . . do the same to your spark-mate . . . and offspring, after all you're a cold blooded killer too."

"No I refuse ta believe that, I kill to defend not because I want to see how many different ways I can get my enemy to scream." Jazz replied.

"L-liar." Wreckage hissed at him "but it d-doesn't matter, your magnetics w-will fail shortly Autobot and I will s-show you the meaning of pain. Of course after I've tortured your mate and terminated the little abomination's spark." The saboteur growled deep in his throat before he sprung and pinned the Decepticon to the shipping crate bodily, his left clawed hand clamped onto the white mech's chest plate's. The Solstice's sharp digits dug into the heavily armoured plating securing a hold "see cold b-blooded killer." The Decepticon began laughing until he heard the distinct whine of a weapon powering, however he quickly found that the silver mech hadn't activated his weapons systems. He was able to snarl and glare nastily at the Autobot before a powerful magnetic discharge was fired at him, it overloaded every system conduit it came into contact with, ruptured every energon and coolant line in its path and destroyed Wreckage's very essence, his soul. The Decepticon screamed in pain as his spark was extinguished before he fell quiet, his entire frame slumping to the concrete floor when Jazz stumbled backwards.

The saboteur staggered into one of the metal shipping crates and leant against it, his frame shaking from exertion and his intakes heaving. Red error messages and warning signs began appearing in his HUD about low energy levels and the damage to different areas of his body, he could now feel his left hip protesting loudly about taking his weight and shifted his stance. However his wearied body refused to hold him up any longer and his right leg buckled beneath him, he fought against his systems shutting down as he attempted to make his way over to where he had hidden Bluestreak. But the fight was all in vain, as his injuries and low energy reserves worked against him.

The last thing Jazz heard before the comforting blackness of unconsciousness claimed him was Bluestreak's muffled wailing cries before his systems finally went off-line.

* * * * * * * * * *

Hope you guys enjoyed that chapter! Well hopefully I won't take so long before I update the next chapter. And I know for those that have read Alliance, that Starscream killed Wreckage, but I decided differently.

Just for those who aren't sure:

NBE's – **7** – Optimus, **9** – Ironhide, **10** – Ratchet, **2** – Bumblebee, **28** Bluestreak

Read & Review!


	15. Picking up the pieces

*Pokes head out of hiding to deliver her usual message* As usual I wanna thank those who stick with this fic, and I'm glad your enjoying it so far. I've also gone back to remaster some of the previous chapters, adding some new pieces in and correcting them as much as possible (4&6 mostly, I will be changing 8 at a later date). Also **Shizuka Taiyou** asked me about the numbers mentioned in the last chapter regarding our extraterrestrials, it's basically the order in which they appear in on Earth, so I hope that clears that bit up. Anyway here is the next chapter, one that was a complete ass to write and I'm not really happy with it *glares at less than co-operative plot bunnies*

**Warnings:** Use of profanities, fluff, slight bit of gore

**Disclaimer**: Not mine, I just toy with with them and hand them back in less than pristine condition.

_'Blah' – thoughts_

_**::Blah:: - Radio Communication**_

_:/blah\: - Inter. comm._

_**:://Blah\\:: Bond communication**_

* * * * * * * * * *

There was a sense of urgency rushing through Prowl's frame as he and his team raced back to the base. They had managed to subdue Barricade and one of the Constructicons that had landed near by, although not without several injuries and some destruction to human property (lucky enough they had been able to lure them away from the city before they engaged them in combat). The tactician had heard his mate call out for him before his end of the bond had gone unnaturally silent, he could also feel Bluestreak's distress through the shared link and sent as much comfort and reassurance as he possibly could. The Dodge Charger knew he wasn't the only one feeling the anxiety as many times he had to reprimand Sideswipe for speeding, after all they didn't want to draw the attention of the humans authorities to the base. They all spotted fresh, black skid marks on the tarmac under their wheels which normally wouldn't draw their attention, but the sight of two abandoned SUV's just parked out of sight on the opposite side of the road immediately told them something was wrong.

Sideswipe was the first to floor his accelerator to cover the last few hundred yards to the base, Prowl watched as the red Lamborghini recklessly drifted around the corner and into the base grounds. The rest followed him but soon had to slam their brakes on to avoid causing a five car pile up near the entrance, as they each transformed into bipedal mode they couldn't but help stare at the mass of destruction that lay before their optical sensors. Laser scorch marks pocketed the hills, the trees, the other hangars upon the base grounds, the tarmac runways and the concrete walkways in various different patterns. A few vehicles had been blow to pieces, their parts scattered across the tarmac whilst others had become a burnt out wreck, still smouldering where they had been blasted. Human NEST personnel rushed back and forth between their comrades, checking the injured over whilst those that had been unfortunately killed in the line of fire were moved and placed with the others off to one side.

However that was not what caught their attention, lying in various spots across the base grounds were terminated robotic shells, each of them were closely related in shape, colour and form. As Prowl inspected them closer, he found no faction insignia upon their greyed plating which clearly translated that they weren't Decepticon drones. The tactician's optics narrowed when he spotted a group of humans boxed in by bare metal and burnt out frames of SUV's, with their hands cuffed behind their backs, Prowl immediately recognised the combat gear they were wearing. The Dodge Charger's door wings flared up into a 'V' formation and went rigid at the thought that the humans government would order an attack on the base, let alone their own people.

"Holy slag what the frag happened to the base?" Prowl heard Sideswipe exclaim, the tactician turned in the direction of the top hangar only to feel his fuel pump almost stall inside of his chest at the sight before him. The hangar had been torn asunder by laser fire and brute strength, the metal plates had been tossed aside carelessly to one side whilst others had either been torn to shreds or twisted into new shapes. In fact the top hangar was practically none existent, as now the entrance to the underground levels was completely exposed. The blast doors that had been designed to keep intruders out had been torn off their rollers and shoved aside, compromising the security of the base entirely.

"Prowl!" The Dodge Charger turned when he heard his designation being called from behind to see Bumblebee limp toward him. Wheeljack intercepted the scout when he saw the blue glow of energon seeping down the outside of the Camaro's right leg from a wound just below his hip joint.

"Bumblebee sit. rep." Prowl ordered as he made his way over, he couldn't help the increasing apprehension for his mate and child seep into his frame especially since Jazz was still not answering to his calls through their bond. A small part of him argued that they were fine and Bluestreak was just simply distressed by what had happened at the base, whilst the other half of him screamed at him to go and look for them and ascertain whether they were hurt or not. After all the saboteur would not intentionally ignore him except for two reasons; either after an argument or when the Solstice was unconscious.

"We were attacked Sir." The scout began "they took out the power grid before they invaded the base, we never saw them coming." Bumblebee winced when the engineer began probing the wound to clear out any shrapnel lodged in it "I left Mirage with the humans to find out what was going after the power went out, I couldn't reach the control room so I navigated my way up here."

"Have you been in contact with Sunstreaker or Jazz?" The tactician inquired as he could see Sideswipe out of the corner of his optic continuously glancing at the entrance to the underground levels, he knew the red Lamborghini was just as anxious as he was.

"No I haven't, the comm.'s are down." The Camaro replied which had the newly arrived team frowning. After all theirs were working perfectly "Prowl, Wreckage was here. I think he was somehow under the humans influence." The tactician stiffened at the mention of the heavy hitter's designation, that couldn't only mean one thing; if the Decepticon had been here on the base then he could very well be inside and from the way the doors had been ripped open, only further confirmed Prowl's fears.

"Alright Wheeljack, Hound and Sideswipe you're with me, Inferno see if you can get to Red Alert and then make contact with the control room to get a damage report." The Dodge Charger said as he removed his acid pellet rifle from sub-space, both tracking specialist and red Lamborghini made their way across to him. Wheeljack quickly finished his temporary repairs upon Bumblebee before joining the group "Arcee take Bumblebee and prep one of the other hangars as a temporary shelter, Sergeant Epps gather the NEST personnel and get them situated."

"You got it." Epps replied before he began shouting orders to his team as they headed off to round up their fellow NEST soldiers and the civilians.

"Yes sir." The pink femme responded as she turned and headed toward the scout.

With his orders being carried out, Prowl led his team into the base, they followed the path of destruction through the intertwining corridors with their weapons pointed at the ready. After all they couldn't afford to be taken by surprise especially if Wreckage was still inside the base. They met a few humans on their way down and quickly sent them on their way whilst others volunteered to help free the others who had been trapped by the lock out. The tactician could feel his anxiety beginning to grow as they neared one of the underground storage areas and knew immediately that Jazz would have attempted to make his way down here despite there being no visible escape routes. The team rounded the last corner and stopped in their tracks at the carnage before them, debris littered the floor outside of the storage area and what had been the doorway was now a large gaping hole in the wall. Prowl and Sideswipe moved forward cautiously as they scanned the area to make sure it was clear before they stepped inside. The red Lamborghini immediately spotted his twin slumped against one of the misplaced metal shipping crates and ran across to him shouting his brother's name, whilst the tactician and the others took in the destruction that had taken place. Most of the wooden crates had been torn apart and were now littering the floor, others had been tipped on their sides spilling their contents, even the large metal shipping crates were dented and displayed numerous scorch marks on their plating. Wheeljack immediately rushed across to the two Lamborghinis once he noticed the distinct colour of energon pooling underneath the gold front-line warrior. Prowl signalled to Hound to move forward and the pair of them began making their way through the storage room, their optical sensors on the constant look out for the hulking frame of Wreckage or the small, silver build of Jazz.

"I found Wreckage." The tracking specialist called "he's dead." Prowl quickly made his way over, his gaze falling upon the grey form of the large Decepticon. He couldn't quite understand why the heavy hitter was here in the first place, there were far too many questions that needed answering regarding the Decepticons involvement with the humans. The tactician surveyed the damage to Wreckage's frame and knew that the wounds he had were not in the least bit fatal, which led him to wonder what exactly had killed the Decepticon. Although when he looked more closely at the Decepticons chest plate, he noticed not only the gash but two distinct scorch marks that could only have been created by a high energy discharge weapon. However he had far more pressing matters on his processor like locating his missing mate and sparkling. The Dodge Charger scanned the immediate area around them before he spotted a glint of silver but a few metres away from their current position, he felt his fuel pump skip a beat and his systems go cold when he saw his bonded lying upon the floor unmoving.

"Jazz!" He called as he willed his body into moving, he rushed across to the prone form of the saboteur, although in his haste he slipped upon some of the debris littering the floor. Prowl dropped to his knees beside his bonded and pulled his mate's upper body into his lap, cradling him close. He attempted to reach Jazz through the bond again, but still there was no response from his lover. The tactician glanced around frantically when he saw no sign of his child anywhere, he could feel his fuel pump pounding inside of his chest plating as his emotions took precedence in his processor.

"Prowl do you hear that?" Hound asked as he made his approach, the Dodge Charger cycled a breath of air through his intakes to calm himself before listening out for whatever the tracking specialist had heard. At first there was nothing until he heard a faint muffled whimper not far from them, Prowl tilted his head to the side waiting for the sound to come again, his door wings swept upwards as they too 'listened' out for any noises that would help triangulate exactly where the whimpers were coming from. A distressed wail followed shortly afterwards that had Prowl instantly on his feet and moving towards the sound, he quietly stepped around crates and over debris as he made his way over to a pile of crates that had not been touched by the skirmish that had occurred down there. The tactician spotted one where the lid had been pried off and sat at a slight angle, he rushed across and lifted open the lid and sighed deeply with relief as he set it aside before he reached in to claim his son. Bluestreak's distressed whimpers escalated for a brief moment before they were soothed by the love and comfort his father sent through their shared link, the Dodge Charger placed him up on his left shoulder and gently nuzzled the infant's helm whilst his free hand stroked delicate back plating.

"Shh I'm here now." Prowl cooed to his son as he held him close, he increased his core temperature in order to transfer heat from him to the little one. Bluestreak's whimpers dissolved into soft hiccups and timid whirls. The tactician glanced up from his creation when he heard footsteps approaching and saw Wheeljack making his way over "how is Sunstreaker?"

"I've got him stabilised for now, Sideswipe is taking him topside now." The engineer responded as he approached the black and white mech with a scanner in hand, Prowl shifted Bluestreak so he was more visible to the scanner before resting him back up on his shoulder once Wheeljack had conducted his scans "he's fine, a little shaken and tired but okay."

"And Jazz?" The tactician inquired as he watched the engineer make his way over to the saboteur and run the scanner over him, the Dodge Charger could feel his anxiety grow for his mate when the portable scanner in Wheeljack's hand gave a couple of warning beeps.

"His energy levels are severely low, he's gone into stasis lock to preserve what energy reserves he has left." Wheeljack told him as he opened up his med-kit and rummaged around for the transfusion kit, he also managed to find a small packet of medical grade energon, the engineer quickly tore open the sterile packaging and placed the equipment down next to him. The Lancia Stratos rolled out one of the saboteur's arms to access one of the elbow joints only to nearly drop the limb when he glanced down briefly at the silver mech's hand "what the?" He gently clasped Jazz's hand and inspected the injury upon his palm more closely "Hound look at the other one." The tracking specialist glanced at Prowl who shared his confused look before dipping his head, the Jeep Wrangler knelt down beside his superior and inspected the saboteur's other hand, he discovered the same wounds were decorating the other palm too "I'm reading a massive magnetic discharge."

"Which means?" Hound inquired as he glanced at the engineer.

"Don't come into contact with his magnetic constrictor coils least ya want his hand attached to you." The engineer replied. Prowl cooed to his sparkling as he glanced across to Wreckage, so that was how the Decepticon had died. Jazz had released a powerful magnetic discharge that eradicated the large white mech's spark. He frowned at that, his mate had never taken another Cybertronians life by using his magnetic coils, sure he had injured, captured or tortured them (a fact he did not like to associate with his mate), but he had never killed with them. As far as he knew anyway. The tactician glanced back toward the three mechs upon the floor, he watched as Wheeljack set up the energon transfusion before instructing Hound to pick up him carefully, Prowl would have done it himself but with a small whimpering sparkling in his arms prevented him from doing so. Once the saboteur was situated comfortably in the tracking specialist's arms, the four of them headed up to the surface where they were greeted by Mirage. He had made his way safely to the top level with the humans he had been left in charge of a few moments ago. General Morshower was already instructing military forces in locating and rescuing the rest of the NEST personnel stuck inside the base, whilst Secretary of Defence Keller had been led toward the group of unknown soldiers and was already demanding that they give him answers.

"We've set up a temporary medical bay in one of the aircraft hangars." The Ford GT told the group as they began making their way across the tarmac "Sideswipe and Arcee have headed down to the medical bay to bring up some supplies."

"Have you heard from Red Alert?" Prowl asked as he readjusted his hold on Bluestreak, the sparkling squirmed and squeaked as cold air brushed against his delicate back plating. Prowl raised his external temperature and clutched the small infant closer, he needed to get his creation wrapped up in a thermal blanket as quickly as possible, least he wanted a sick sparkling on his hands on top of everything else. The spy was just about to open his mouth plates to answer when someone else beat him to it.

"Prowl!" The tactician turned from Mirage, his gaze immediately settled upon a fuming Red Alert striding towards him with Inferno following in his wake.

"Red Alert." He greeted the security director, he knew exactly what was going to happen next. But first things first "Mirage could you take Bluestreak for me, I need him to be out of the cold." The white and blue mech nodded and plucked the infant out of his father's arms and settled him in the crook of his right arm, a small smile appeared upon the special ops agent's facial plates when Bluestreak attempted to snuggle closer, seeking out warmth from the Ford GT. The spy spared one last look at the group before he made his way over to the hangar that had been converted to house the wounded, Prowl watched him leave before he turned to the other two mechs "Inferno, I need you to assemble a team to search the base to ensure that we don't have any personnel still trapped."

"You got it." The head of search and rescue said before he disappeared, but not before he shared a few words with Red Alert over their shared link.

"Now what is it that you wanted to speak to me about Red Alert?" The tactician inquired.

"This." The BMW began as he gestured to the battle inflicted areas "this would never have happened if the last security upgrades had been approved, I kept telling everyone that working alongside the humans was a bad idea, but would anyone listen to me? No and now look at the mess we're in." The red and white mech glowered at the military strategist "you're our tactician, you of all mechs should have predicted a possible attack."

Prowl's door wings flickered "I will admit that I had run several scenarios regarding a possible attack from the humans, however I could not have predicted that our supposed allies would have drone units let alone a Decepticon working with them."

"Decepticon?!" Red Alert demanded, several humans working past him were startled by his loud tones "a Decepticon was working with them? That means the entire base has been compromised, additional forces could be here at any moment, we must tighten the security we have left."

"Red Alert that will not be necessary, Wreckage is dead and we would have detected any communications, encoded or not." The tactician told him. Looking past the fritzing mech, Prowl could see Sideswipe and Arcee exiting the base with medical supplies bundled in their arms, the red Lamborghini was sporting noticeably new dents and scrapes to his paint work and armoured plating whilst Arcee was covered in thick dust. No doubt the pair had trouble getting to the med-bay and created a new way of getting to their destination.

"What's going on?" The front-liner asked as he glanced from Red Alert to Prowl, he could see the tension written all over their frames. The security director glanced at Sideswipe and Arcee suspiciously, refusing to activate his vocaliser in their presence.

"Everything's alright Sideswipe, you better get those supplies to Wheeljack." The tactician only spared them a sideways glance, the pair glanced at one another but none the less made their way over to the hangar that had been converted into a temporary shelter. The Dodge Charger turned his full attention to Red Alert "you have my full permission to check the perimeter and ensure the base hasn't been compromised by any human civilians, but I want you to take a team of humans . . . . ."

"You want me to take a team of humans? They cannot be trusted. I refuse to show them any other potential weaknesses in our defences." The BMW protested cutting Prowl off.

The tactician pinched the bridge of his nasal structure and sighed deeply through his intakes "I shall free up Trailbreaker and Hound to assist you." The security director looked none too pleased about the arrangement but he carried out his orders none the less, the Dodge Charger watched him leave before informing a newly arrived Trailbreaker of his orders. Prowl glanced across the tarmac to see General Morshower mobilise a team of engineers and technicians to head into the base with Sergeant Epps, and down to the power control room. He knew that the military would want a damage report and an answer to whether they could get the base back and up running ASAP, or whether in fact it was salvageable. He glanced across when he heard Keller issuing orders, the tactician watched as the Secretary of Defence oversaw the transfer of the humans barricaded in by the burnt out husks of SUV's to a large truck, no doubt to transfer them to a safe holding area.

Satisfied the humans had everything under control, the black and white mech made his way over to the hangar, his blue optics surveyed the scene within. Human medics rushed back and forth between their patients whilst Wheeljack attended to their own wounded. Prowl's gaze fell briefly on his bonded at the back of the large hangar before he glanced around for Hound. The tactician spotted the tracking specialist wrapping Bumblebee's wound and quickly made his way over to the pair of them. The scout immediately spotted the 2IC and smiled tiredly at him, the Dodge Charger dipped his head in greeting before asking Hound to assist Red Alert with checking the base's perimeter. The Jeep Wrangler looked none too happy about his orders and Prowl fully understood why, but the tracking specialist carried them out regardless, knowing their safety now was a top priority. The tactician then turned to the scout and offered Bumblebee a few words, telling him he would require a report regarding the skirmish with the humans, the Camaro nodded before he hopped off the platform he had been sat upon and made his way over to his and Ironhide's human charges. The black and white mech glanced about the hangar for Mirage, he found the spy with Arcee on the other side of the open space inside the hangar. The Dodge Charger quickly made his way over, his gaze immediately fell upon the silver thermal blanket wrapped around his creation, the pink femme spotted his approach and informed the blue and white mech.

"How's he doing?" Prowl asked.

"Still deep in recharge, little one must have tired himself out." Mirage replied, he saw the concerned look upon the 2IC's facial plates "Wheeljack checked him out and told me he was fine." The tactician's worry deflated at those words, he had truly felt worried about his offspring the moment he had felt his distress through their shared link. His concern had only grown for the little grey infant when he had discovered his bonded unconscious as Bluestreak sometimes preferred the comforting presence of his spark carrier than his sire, but thankfully the sparkling had been too weary to be fussy. The Dodge Charger sent a brief flicker of comfort and reassurance to his son and the infant stirred slightly before he went still again.

"Will you two be alright to watch over him for a while longer?" Prowl inquired as he stroked Bluestreak's helm with a soft caress, the sparkling nuzzled his palm and chirred in his recharge.

"We'll be fine." Arcee replied, she watched as sleepy baby blue optics on-lined briefly before they went dark and optic shutters drooped shut. The tactician glanced at his sparkling one more time as he thanked the pair of them before he glanced across to where their own wounded were situated. His gaze fell upon the back of the engineer who was just finishing wrapping the wound on Sunstreaker's thigh with flexiseal before he took the portable scanner off Sideswipe and checked the readings upon it. It had come as no surprise to see that the red Lamborghini had offered his services to help with the repairs. The Dodge Charger made his way across and intercepted the Lancia Stratos in order to get a status update upon their injured.

"How are they doing?" Prowl inquired as he stood beside the engineer who was wiping his hands upon a cloth.

The Lancia Stratos glanced at him "Bumblebee's going to be fine, I'll release him back onto duty in a day or two." The tactician nodded as he made note of who was going to be available to assist in the repairs and getting power back on-line "Sunstreaker is another matter entirely, Wreckage twisted and damaged the strut in his leg which means it'll have to be removed and re-fabricated, I can do it but I'm going to need the necessary equipment to perform the surgery."

"Make a list of what you need and I'll have someone fetch it for you." The Dodge Charger replied as his gaze fell upon the prone form of his bonded "how is Jazz?"

Wheeljack glanced at the unconscious saboteur "I've got him on an energon drip to get his energy levels back up and although he's absorbing it, its not making that much of a difference." Prowl frowned at that, there had to be an internal leak somewhere however the engineer would have found it and had it sealed as quickly as possible.

"Could there be a leak?" The tactician inquired regardless.

"I've checked and double checked, and if there is one its not detectable." Wheeljack replied "my preliminary scans of Jazz also shows that his left hip is dislocated and it needs to be to be popped back into place or he runs the risk of energon being drastically reduced to his leg which could put him further out of action." The Dodge Charger glanced at the Solstice and finally saw the offset leg, he briefly wondered how his mate had managed to damage himself so badly. But the black and white mech figured Wreckage had something to do with it "I will need some help to set it straight."

Prowl was hesitant at first as he did not like causing his mate any pain "Of course, what would you like me to do?"

"Hold him down whilst I manipulate his leg back into place." The engineer replied as they began making their way over to where Jazz was laid out. The tactician knelt down near the top of Jazz's helm and leant over his bonded in order to slid his arms under his mate's shoulders to restrain the joints from moving. The Lancia Stratos positioned himself in-between the saboteur's ankles, he couldn't help but feel a little awkward about where he was knelt especially when the Solstice's bonded was sat but a few metres away. But he shook off the uneasiness as he grabbed the silver mech's knee joint with one hand and his ankle with the other, he then began, with some force, to twist Jazz's knee so his thigh was manipulated inwards whilst the rest of his leg was turned outwards. It took some use of traction before Wheeljack was rewarded with an audible _CRACK_ as the joint snapped back into place, however what took both Prowl and the engineer completely by surprise was the sudden on-lining of the saboteur's systems and the cry of pain that left his vocaliser. The tactician immediately tightened his grip as his bonded arched and attempted to twist onto his left side in order to curl in on himself.

"Jazz." The Dodge Charger called, he watched as pain filled blue optics fell upon him.

"P-Prowl?" A voice full of uncertainty asked him.

"Yes love I'm here." Prowl replied as he gathered his mate to him, he sent as much love and comfort as he possibly could to his bonded, knowing that Jazz needed to know everything was safe and well. The tactician felt his spark-mate calm before a surge of panic infused the saboteur's frame, the Dodge Charger tightened his grip upon the silver mech to prevent him from struggling to get free.

"Bluestreak? Where's Bluestreak?!" The Solstice cried out as he tried to free himself from his bonded's grasp.

Prowl struggled to him hold him down as he knew it was imperative that Jazz didn't aggravate his wounds any further "He's fine, he's safe." The saboteur stopped struggling the moment he heard those words leave his spark-mate's lip components.

"Did I . . . Is Wreckage dead?" The Solstice asked as he tried to push back the pain he had not been aware of until now, he bit back a yelp when Wheeljack probed around his hip joint to make sure there was no unusual swelling.

The tactician hesitated as he choose his next words carefully "Yes Wreckage is no longer amongst the processing."

Jazz vented a shaky sigh of relief "He . . . he was gonna take h-him, he said . . . he was important to both th' Decepticons an' th' humans."

"The humans?" Wheeljack inquired as he glanced at the saboteur, from the corner of his optics he could see a similar troubled frown upon the Dodge Charger's facial plates "what would the humans want with him?"

"He didn't say." The Solstice replied with a slur in his voice, blue optics flickered as the silver mech tried to fight against the powerful sedatives that were now in his system. Prowl and Wheeljack watched as Jazz was pulled under the effects of the sedative before laying him out fully once the engineer was certain he was unconscious.

"I wonder why the humans have an interest in Bluestreak?" The Lancia Stratos asked of no-one in particular as he hooked the saboteur up to a portable monitor.

The tactician's door wings flared as a surge of anger and the need to protect his offspring infused his frame "I do not know, but hopefully Keller will be able to get some answers." The black and white winced when a door wing twitched and pulled upon the shallow gash just beneath it; a wound courtesy of Barricade's melee weapon.

Wheeljack saw the Dodge Charger grimace "I'm gonna need to take a look at that."

"You should see to the others first." Prowl told him as he glanced toward the entrance of the hangar, he spotted a solider from Sergeant Epps' team make his way across.

"Sir our team have found something you should see." The young man said as he stood to attention in front of the two Autobots.

"Understood I'm on my way." The tactician replied as he pushed himself up onto his feet, he quickly spared the engineer a glance "keep me posted on their conditions."

The Lancia Stratos nodded "Will do."

The Dodge Charger nodded before he followed the young soldier out of the hangar, he shivered slightly when a cold breeze caressed his frame as he made his way across the base grounds. He noticed that the soldiers who were able were beginning to clear up the mess that had been caused by the insurgent team of humans whilst others were using large pieces of equipment to remove the dead frames of the Earth born drones. It was likely that once Ratchet returned, he would want to take a closer look at the drone units so Prowl quickly informed one of the team leaders of such, the man clearly in his early forties had nodded in acknowledgement before ordering his team to move one of the drones (what was left of it anyway) to one of the other hangars. Once that was done, the tactician continued across to where the top hangar of the underground base had once stood, the twisted metal sheets were still smouldering, even more so now that it had begun to rain. The Dodge Charger stepped into the corridor after the human soldier that had come to get him and followed him through the base to the power distribution room, along the way he got to witness first hand the destruction Wreckage had caused until he turned into the hallway that would lead him to the centre of the base. The soldier in front of Prowl explained to him that they had to use C4 in order to get through some of the doors blocking their access to the power distribution room, the tactician knew Red Alert would fritz the moment he learned about that.

The tactician could hear the chatter of Master Sergeant Epps' team up ahead and from the sound of it, it didn't sound good in any context. He stepped into the room and everything appeared to be in order except for the lack of the usual hum of energy from the power core, that was until he saw the device a couple of the engineers were studying whilst their comrades were trying to assess the damage done to the power systems.

"Master Sergeant." The Dodge Charger called, Epps turned to glance over his shoulder to see the black and white mech make his way across "report."

"Th' whole systems fried." Robert Epps told him "whatever they used, its gonna take a while to get the whole system back on-line."

"Understood, we do know what the device was that they used to disable us?" Prowl inquired.

"Yea they think it was designed to deliver a high yield EM pulse into the power core." The Master Sergeant replied "good thing none of you guys were in its proximity."

"Indeed." The tactician said "a high yield EM pulse would have surely terminated any Cybertronian in range."

Epps glanced up at him "I figured as much, I'm just glad none of ya weren't or I'd end up having to find a way of explaining to the big guy how one of you managed to get slagged." The Dodge Charger raised a single optic ridge up when he heard the Master Sergeant use one of their cuss words, he knew that the man had been spending far too much time around Ironhide who was a glorified walking dictionary of profanities (other than Ratchet of course).

The black and white mech folded his arms across his chest "I believe I will have enough to report once Optimus' team reports back from the United Kingdom in regards to the condition of the base."

"Yea man I don't envy you that part." The Master Sergeant replied. A barely interpretable twitch of the tactician's door wings was the only reply he got before turned back to the situation at hand. There was an awful lot of questions that needed answering, he just hoped that they were able to get the answers they needed to determine exactly what the hell had happened whilst they had been away.

* * * * * * * * * *

Optimus knew something wasn't quite right after they had left the base to pursue a Decepticon signal that had appeared over the United Kingdom. And that suspicion only grew when the signal disappeared and the two day ground search had turned up nothing, not too mention the loss of communications with the Tranquillity. The humans and his fellow comrades had tried to reassure him that maybe they couldn't contact them due to bad weather, however Optimus couldn't help the sense of dread settling in his fuel tanks. He knew his security director was going to give him an audio full once they reached the base about leaving it heavily undefended, especially if the Decepticons decided to attack them. But right now he just wanted them to be able to secure communications and contact the base to see if everything was alright.

"Major." One of the NEST soldiers called which drew Optimus out of his thoughts, the Prime watched as Will Lennox looked up from the paperwork he had in his hands to glance across the hangar. The soldier was quickly making his way across to his superior, his hand dropping from his headset once he had received all of the Intel. from the cockpit "we have a problem sir."

"What kind of problem sergeant?" The Major inquired. Optimus' curiosity peaked when he heard those words and turned his attention fully to the humans, he had a feeling his concern for those at the Tranquillity base was just about to be justified.

"We've just received a short wave radio transmission from the Tranquillity base sir." The young corporal began, he swallowed in a nervous manner when Lennox prompted him to continue "they were attacked sir."

"By the Decepticons?" Will inquired, worry and concern clearly written in the tone of his voice.

"No Sir." The Corporal replied "a human special forces unit."

"What?!" Ironhide demanded from where he was strapped down in the hangar "those good for nothin', double crossin' pit spawn fraggers!"

The Major opened his mouth intending to respond to the Corporal but found he couldn't get the right words to form, in fact the rest of the humans inside the hangar were in a similar state. Optimus felt his CPU processes stall for a brief moment as the information sunk in, he wondered what it was exactly that the humans were after. As far as he knew they didn't have anything the humans wanted in regards to Intel. or technology (except what they were willing to share), although there was a possibility that they could be after weapons specs or technology. After all it would not be the first time the government had tried to bargain for weapon upgrades from the Cybertronians only to be refused every time, the Autobots all knew the kind of destruction the humans were capable of without the use of advanced weaponry.

"Dammit, corporal find out what our ETA is, we need to be there ASAP." Lennox ordered.

"Yes sir." The young soldier replied before saluting the Major then headed off in the direction of the cockpit. Will watched him leave before he took out his anger upon a piece of equipment nearby, Optimus understood his anger clearly but knew he could not show it, not yet. He was more focused upon getting back on the ground and making sure his fellow Autobots and a certain precious sparkling were safe and well. The Prime knew he would have to keep a close optic upon Ironhide once they had landed as the old mech had no qualms about shoot first, ask questions later. He also understood that tension between them and the humans would reach new heights with the possibility of his own soldiers beginning to question his judgement and his decisions why they were still here on this planet. But the semi Peter-built knew they would understand his reasoning for remaining here, after all they had brought their war to this beautiful blue planet, a notion that did not sit well with the Autobot leader. Optimus was drawn out of his thoughts when he felt the harness straps securing him in place, were tugged. He turned his external sensors upon the human checking his straps and knew immediately that it was Major Lennox.

"Sorry Optimus we're gonna be starting our descent in a moment so I have to make sure all your straps are still secure." Will explained as he checked the straps at the back of the semi Peter-built.

"I understand Major." The Prime replied, he knew the Major was concerned for his wife's safety, after all she had been at the base when it had been attacked. But the large blue and red mech knew that his fellow Autobots would do everything to ensure the safety of their human allies, he just hoped that there was a valid reason for all of this which made him wonder now as to who could have planted the fake Decepticon signal over the British Isles to draw them away?

"Alright everyone get yourselves strapped in!" Lennox ordered as he left the Autobot leader's side in order to buckle himself in as well.

Optimus was more than anxious now to set foot upon the tarmac at the Tranquillity base as he listened to the different pitch in the aircraft's engines that signalled they were now descending. Prime knew that although he didn't have Jazz's sensitive audio receptors, he could still hear the angry rumbling of Ironhide's engine and understood that he would definitely have to keep an optic upon his weapons specialist the moment they landed.

_:/ Don't worry optimus I got a nice wrench with olé trigger happy lugnut's designation on it.\: _Ratchet said over their internal comm. link.

_:/ I hope it doesn't come to that Ratchet.\: _The semi Peter-built replied, amusement colouring the tone of his voice.

Ironhide gave a sharp rev. of his engine which drew the attention of the human soldiers _:/ I'm here ya know, I can hear ya!\:_

_:/ That's the whole idea.\: _The medic told the Top-kick Truck _:/ just so you know what's in store if you have 'step on humans' tendencies, although if that runt Galloway is there, you're more than welcome to step on him.\:_

_:/ Ratchet.\: _Optimus warned although he too did not like their new human liaison.

_:/ No more than what they deserve.\: _Ironhide grumbled _:/ do we even know what those slaggers were after?\:_

_:/ No.\: _The Autobot commander replied although he was beginning to have suspicions regarding the humans intentions. He knew he would have a hard time breaking the news to Prowl and Jazz about their sparkling being a new possible Allspark or a source of that ancient power anyway. Not to mention that it might have been Bluestreak that the humans had been after. What for? He did not know, but hoped there were answers waiting for them when they got back to base. Optimus was soon jolted out of his thoughts when he heard the distinct sound of the aircraft's wheels touching the asphalt, he didn't realise that they had been that close to Tranquillity unless they had been redirected to another Air force base. He really hoped they hadn't as it could take hours let alone days to get there, not too mention other Air force bases meant normal people which in turn dictated that they had to act like normal vehicles. If that was the case he prayed to the human deity and their own to allow them swift passage off the base grounds before Ironhide happened to 'forget' the protocols put in place and expose their existence which would only further delay their E.T.A at the Tranquillity base. The Prime heard the distinct whine of the C17's engines powering down before the cargo hold erupted in noise as the NEST soldiers began un-buckling themselves from their harnesses before either grabbing their gear or helping in freeing the Autobots from their straps.

"Now slaggin' get that door open, I want out of this plane." Ironhide demanded as he revved his engine. If he had been capable of it, Optimus would have rolled his optics at the weapon specialist's words but understood his need to get out of the C17.

Major Lennox glanced up from where he was freeing the last strap from the semi Peter-built's back end "Got somewhere important to be 'Hide?"

"My fraggin' joints are achin' an' I'm fed with starin' at Prime's aft." The GMC Top kick truck responded, several of the soldiers chuckled whilst the Autobot leader made an indignant noise.

Will shook his head in amusement "Alright Corporal get that door open before a certain moody Autobot decides to blast it open instead."

"Aye sir." The young man replied.

"Moody? Lennox I'd kick your aft for that if the slaggin' protocols didn't prevent me from doing so." The weapons specialist threatened good naturedly.

"Uh-huh." The Major uttered before he turned his full attention to the Prime "alright Optimus, you're completely free."

"Thank you Major." The semi Peter-built responded before a powerful diesel engine roared to life, Optimus drove forward and down the boarding plank to the freedom of the outside world. Much to his relief, the Prime found that they were indeed back in Tranquillity so he was able to convert to bipedal mode, however he was just in the process of stretching the kinks out of his joints when his optics fell upon the area where the top hangar of the base should have been. Most of the debris was still being cleared away by both human and Cybertronian alike, it was a true testament to what had truly gone on there in their short absence. Laser scorch marks pocketed much of the terrain and the buildings which had the Prime frowning, if it had been the humans who had attacked them, there would have been less subtle signs. Unless of course their supposed allies had come up with an effective weapon to use against them.

"What in slag's name?" He heard Ironhide curse behind him, he also heard the humans curse in their own native tongue when they saw the damage that had been inflicted. The Autobot leader immediately began moving toward the entrance of the base just as Prowl and Red Alert stepped out, Optimus could see the grim expressions upon his 2IC's and the security director's facial plates.

"Optimus its good to have you back sir." The tactician said as he saluted his Commander.

"Normally I would say it's good to be back but with the current situation as it is." The Prime began as he glanced around, he was still finding it hard to believe that the humans would do this without thinking there could have been some form of retaliation. He just couldn't find it in himself just to ask what the hell had happened, in fact it was Ironhide who beat him to it.

"What in frags name happened?" Ironhide demanded.

"A truly well planned and staged attack." The Dodge Charger replied "they took out our power supply with an EMF device the moment they knew we were vulnerable which leads to the very high possibility they planted operatives prior to the attack."

"Operatives which I might add Optimus Sir had access to all of our information, security codes and defence systems." Red Alert began. The Autobot Commander groaned inwardly, he knew this issue regarding the humans stealing data from them months ago was going to come back and bite him in the aft "in fact some of the operatives were personnel who have been working with us for months and have oh so conveniently gone missing."

"Some have been taken into custody, I have told you this repeatedly Red Alert." Prowl said sharply "and Tom Banachek has a team tracking down those who are currently AWOL." The semi Peter-built watched as his tactician's door wings flared and went rigid and knew he would have to distract the pair away from the issue regarding the humans before either Red Alert fritzed or Prowl lost his temper.

"Alright give me a status update on the condition of the base." The Prime requested.

The Dodge Charger turned his attention from the security director to his leader " In-between caring for our wounded . . ." He received a glare from Ratchet now that the medic had learned there had been injured and had stalked off toward the hangar " . . . Wheeljack has ascertained that it could take days possibly even weeks before we have power up and running."

"We don't have the luxury of time now that more Decepticons have made planet fall." Optimus said as he folded his arms across his armoured chest "what about repairs to the base?"

"Some areas have become inaccessible through the damage caused by Wreckage . . . ." The tactician was instantly cut off.

"That pit fragger Wreckage was here?" The weapons specialist demanded, Red Alert twitched at the mention of the deceased Decepticon's name.

"I find it highly unlikely that Wreckage would ally himself to the humans." Optimus said, a frown marring his facial plates. He watched as the NEST soldiers finished disembarking from the C17 and greet their comrades.

"From what we're managed to determine is that the humans used some kind of controlling device upon Wreckage and the drone units they brought with them." Prowl replied as the group finally began making their way across to the hangar they had set up camp in when they felt the light drizzle of rain upon their armoured plating. They stepped inside and Optimus glanced around, the large aircraft hangar had been converted into three sections; a basic command centre, med-bay and an area for the Autobots to settle down for recharge and the humans to sleep. He also happened to notice that the only human personnel inside the hangar were NEST which suggested that the civilians had all either been taken into custody, sent home or discharged.

"Pit fraggin' humans, ought to be blasted inta the next century, what makes them think they can try an' control us." Ironhide growled in a low menacing tone, several humans close by gave the weapons specialist a wide berth, afraid they would indeed by 'blasted into the next century' by the gun trotting mech.

"Ironhide." The Prime rumbled in a warning tone as he turned from the GMC Top kick truck to the Dodge Charger "Do we know what they came for?"

The tactician glanced away from his leader to Sideswipe was pacing around the room in aimless circles "In his few moments of consciousness, Jazz said that they were after Bluestreak simply because he is supposedly invaluable to both the humans and the Decepticons." The semi Peter-built watched as tense door wings drew up into the infamous 'V' formation upon Prowl's back as the black and white mech spoke, he then glanced across to Sideswipe as the red front-liner soothed the small frame in his arms. He was not in the least bit surprised that the humans wanted their newest family addition for scientific purposes, after all Agent Simmons had shown a keen interest in gathering Intel. upon the infant Cybertronian several months ago. And the Decepticons? He knew that they would seize the sparkling to use him as a potential bargaining tool. Although Optimus feared that if they were able to lay a servo upon Bluestreak, they too might be able to pick up the faint Allspark signal he was emitting. The Prime knew now would be the right time to tell his 2IC and 3 IC about their little one, however he couldn't bring himself to add more to the tactician's burden as the poor mech looked just about ready to crash.

"I have patrol units on the lookout for Decepticon activity." Prowl said diverting his commander from his current train of thought "and Skyfire is due to report in, in a couple of hours."

"Understood." Optimus dipped his head in acknowledgement as he took the data-pad from the Dodge Charger knowing it contained a complete and detailed report.

Ratchet made his way back to the group, sub-spacing his portable scanner as he did so "I've checked over our wounded and I have to say Wheeljack's done a pretty good job at treating their injuries."

"Careful there Ratch, he might just replace ya as CMO if he gets too good." Ironhide said.

The medic glared lightly at the weapons specialist "Doubtful."

Optimus chuckled at the banter between the two older mechs "How long do you estimate before they can return to duty."

"Bumblebee is cleared for light duty, Sideswipe is ready for active duty although I'd advise against sending him out into the field until Sunstreaker is fully on-line and ready for light duty which will be a couple of days from now." Ratchet began "Jazz will also be ready for light duty in a couple of days although I would prefer he remain under observation."

"What for? Wheeljack said he was stable." Prowl inquired with a frown marring his facial plates.

"And he is but I'm concerned about the severe energy depletion he suffered as it could cause some short term effects." The Hummer responded "and don't think 'Jack didn't tell me about your wounds Prowl, you're to remain on light duty until I clear you." A barely interpretable twitch in the tactician's door wings betrayed his unhappiness about being stuck on light duty, however the Dodge Charger knew it would provide him with extra time to spend with Bluestreak.

"Is there anything more I should be aware of?" Optimus inquired.

"No sir that pretty much covers it, everything has been covered in the report I just handed to you." The black and white mech replied, he was suddenly anxious about the safety of his son. The Prime noticed the change in his behaviour and dismissed him, he watched as Prowl quickly crossed the room to where Sideswipe was and take the sparkling from the front-line warrior. However the red Lamborghini didn't retreat from the tactician's side, no doubt Sideswipe wanted to remain in close contact with both parent and child in case the Decepticons chose that moment to attack them. The semi Peter-built knew that was another issue he would have to deal with, after all they didn't have a functioning base which left them incredibly vulnerable. He decided it was time to finalise the plans with the Secretary of Defence about moving his troops and the NEST soldiers to the military base of Diego Garcia in the middle of the Indian ocean. Optimus knew he would face opposition from his fellow Autobots about moving to an isolated island with no viable escape routes, but the Prime would argue that it was better than remaining here in Tranquillity with humans that could be used as collateral so close by. The large red and blue mech was drawn out of his thoughts when he heard footsteps, he glanced down to see Major Lennox make his way across to him.

"Optimus the Secretary of Defence is here, he wants to speak with you." Will told him.

Prime dipped his head in acknowledgement "Very well." The semi Peter-built made his way out of the hangar, he shivered briefly when the bitter cold wind caressed his plating. Optimus immediately spotted John Keller amongst a small contingent of NEST soldiers and quickly made his way over "Secretary of Defence its good to see you." Prime greeted the human.

"Likewise Optimus, I just wish it was under better circumstances." Keller replied.

The semi Peter-built nodded as he knelt down so the man didn't have to crane his neck so much to look up at him "You wished to speak with me."

"I did, mind if we take a walk?" The Secretary of Defence inquired.

"I have a better idea." Optimus replied before he transformed into his alt. mode and swung open his drivers side door. Keller hesitated at first, after all it would be the first time in four years that he had been invited into one of the the Autobot's alt. modes. The Secretary of Defence pulled himself up into the Autobot leader's cab, settling himself comfortably albeit nervously in the drivers seat. The Prime shut the door before his engine roared to life.

Optimus opened a comm. link to his 2IC _**::Prowl I'm leaving command of the base to you until I return.::**_

_**:: Sir is that wise? With the increase in Decepticon numbers, you could easily become overwhelmed should they discover that you're alone and without backup.::**_The tactician responded.

_**::I appreciate your concern Prowl, but I will be fine.:: **_The Prime told the Dodge Charger, he knew Prowl wanted to argue with him, to tell him it wasn't a good idea to venture out on his own after the recent attack on the base by the humans. But he knew his 2IC was only looking out for his welfare.

_**:: Understood.::**_The tactician replied reluctantly before closing the comm. link on his end.

The Prime closed the comm. link on his end before turning his attention to the human in his cab, he could see the deep frown upon Keller's face and his internal sensors told him that the Secretary of Defence was tense, incredibly so "Is everything alright John?" Optimus inquired, concerned for the human.

Keller sighed "I'm fine, it's just that . . ." He paused momentarily ". . . I'm still finding it hard to believe that the Tranquillity base was attacked unprovoked." The Prime remained silent as he continued to transverse the highway he was on "I spoke to the President as well and he assured me that he had nothing to do with it."

"A rogue group perhaps." The semi Peter-built suggested, then it finally dawned upon him as to the possible identity to the special forces unit that had attacked them "a group that has had dealings with our species before."

Keller sat up straight "Wait do you believe that the ex-sector seven individuals had a part to play in all of this?"

"It would make perfect sense, they had a keen interest in the Allspark and its properties which highlights the reason why they were after Bluestreak clearly." Optimus replied.

"Bluestreak?" The Secretary of Defence asked "now it makes sense."

"What does?" The Autobot leader inquired.

"The report Doctor Hendrickson gave me after we had taken the offenders into custody." Keller began "she told me she had been apart of the same agency until they discharged her for being a potential liability."

"Do you have this report with you?" Optimus asked. The Secretary of Defence reached into one of his blazer's pockets and with drew a data disk.

"It's all on here." John replied as he held it in front of him so the Prime's internal sensors could detect it. The Secretary of Defence placed it back into his jacket's pocket before turning his attention to the road in front of them. A silence descended between them until Keller decided to break it "have you told them yet?"

Optimus briefly wondered by what he meant by 'them' until he realised the Secretary of Defence was talking about Prowl and Jazz "No."

"Do you think its wise to keep this from them? After all it does concern them and their baby." Keller said.

The Prime sighed "I have thought about it, but I've decided to tell them if and when the situation calls for it."

"That's a rather large bet you're taking on, sooner of later they're going to find out their son could be the Allspark regenerated. The Secretary of Defence told him.

"You're right." Optimus began "but until that time comes, they must remain ignorant of that fact, if I was to tell them now it could arouse suspicion and division within the ranks, something we simply cannot afford at the moment as we are currently vulnerable to Decepticon attack."

"Then I assume you want to move your plans forward about moving NEST operations to Diego Garcia?" John asked.

"I do, yes." Optimus responded as he made a turn off.

"Very well, there's only a last bit of paperwork to finish and finalise then you should have clearance to proceed." The Secretary of Defence told the Autobot leader as they began the trek back to base.

Everything appeared to rather complicated at this very moment in time. The semi Peter-built already had answers formed in his processor when it came to the issue about moving NEST operations to the remote classified Naval base in the Indian Ocean. But he was lacking answers in order to form a defence upon his behalf when it came to the tactician and the saboteur. How could he tell them about Bluestreak without receiving some sort of ire from them? Let alone the disappointed and anguished looks he would receive from the bonded pair about having this kept from them. Deep down he knew he would have to find the courage to face them, after all it was his obligation as their leader and trusted friend to help the pair prepare for the worst case scenario. Not that he would allow it to happen, there was no way he was going to allow a Decepticon (or a human for that matter) lay a servo on Bluestreak whilst he had enough spark in his chest.

* * * * *

Back at the Tranquillity base, a pair of blue optics narrowed dangerously at the words he had just heard upon the hacked comm. link frequency, and knew then that it wasn't just the humans that were hiding things from them. But their own leader as well.

* * * * * * * * * *

To say he was intrigued was an understatement, in fact he was certain that he wouldn't be able to form a connection as deep as he had without his brother detecting his presence. He had been aware of the link since the day he had detected the unborn Cybertronian inside the Autobot's saboteur, but he had ignored it, pushed it to the back of his mind. After all he was a Decepticon shock trooper, a warrior that had been trained to kill. However he could not ignore the link no matter how hard he tried or convinced himself that he shouldn't be concerned for a weak and fragile Autobot sparkling, but his natural instincts to protect his kin kept overriding his processor. Which greatly frustrated Barricade to such an extent that he would take his anger out on something, he knew his comrades would think that he was weak and useless if they ever found out about about the Mustang's need to protect the Autobot sparkling from harm.

The connection between Barricade and the infant Cybertronian had become deeper the past couple of Earth days as the sparkling searched for comfort and reassurance from another presence other than his sire. The shock trooper had been both surprised and unnerved at first by the contact and tried to block and ignore it at first, but he soon allowed his guard to drop slightly and send responses back to the infant. Barricade had been amused by the feedback he received however he kept his interactions with the sparkling short to prevent any unwanted attention from his youngest sibling, not to mention from his fellow Decepticons if they happened to see him smiling. And just like the past couple of days, the shock trooper reached along the tiny silver sliver of energy that connected him to the Autobot sparkling, however unlike his previous encounters, the infant was quiet although every now and again a small ounce of distress would filter through. Judging by what the Mustang could tell from his brother's moods without probing the block in place, Barricade figured the infant's distress had something to do with his spark carrier. He briefly wondered what had happened to the Autobot's saboteur until he mentally berated himself that he shouldn't care. After all he was the enemy.

The shock trooper was drawn out of his thoughts and away from the link he shared with the Autobot sparkling when he heard Frenzy repeatedly calling for him whilst bouncing up and down upon his pedes.

"What?!" Barricade demanded angrily which had Frenzy stop his bouncing and attracting Ravage's attention from across the room.

"Barr-icade incoming!" The little hacker told him before scuttling away from the Mustang. The shock trooper grumbled to himself as he pushed his frame into standing, each of his joints groaned with protest since Barricade had hardly moved from his position for the past couple of days. The Constructicon that had landed two days prior shifted from where he had been stood to move to the open hangar doors in order to greet the rest of his gestalt. Barricade made his way over to the hangar doors reluctantly, he did not want to greet Starscream in the slightest. After all their 2IC had readily seized the title of leader without even contemplating the thought that the others. Especially Megatron's most loyal lieutenants, would want their real leader back. The shock trooper glanced out of the hangar when he heard the distinct sound of three powerful jet engines roar overhead, he immediately spotted the silver form of Starscream as the F22 Raptor banked sharply in the dark overcast sky. He curled his upper lip component up in disgust when he saw the markings upon the silver form before his attention was diverted to Skywarp landing and transforming upon the disused runway, behind him was a blue and black Raptor that the Mustang knew had to be Thundercracker. Barricade's four blood red optics moved from the two Raptors to the Apache helicopter trailing not far behind, the Mustang briefly wondered who it was until it transformed into its bipedal mode. The shock trooper knew who it was immediately by the singular orange optic and was not surprised in the slightest when the mech revealed itself to be Shockwave, he was surprised by the fact that Soundwave wasn't here but knew he would be somewhere close by.

The Mustang heard the sounds of transformation before a thud of metal meeting concrete as Starscream landed upon the disused runway, the silver Raptor's crimson optics fell upon the small black and white frame of the shock trooper in a cold calculating stare. Starscream sneered at Barricade, he had hoped that the Autobots would get rid of the Mustang before he arrived back on Earth. After all he wanted to dwindle down the number of Megatron's loyal soldiers, in order to cut out the competition.

"Good to see you've made it to Earth." Barricade said although the silver Raptor couldn't help but hear the sarcasm in the tone of his voice.

"I take it there have been no problems?" Starscream asked.

"Except that two of our number are gone." The shock trooper replied as he glowered at the silver Raptor.

Skywarp decided to open his mouth plates before his trine mate and leader "Who got themselves slagged?"

The Mustang gave the purple and black Raptor a sideways glance as he folded his arms across his armoured chest "Demolisher and Sideways."

"No matter." Starscream began "I don't require the pair of them, after all I've brought the Decepticon's most powerful weapon." He swept his clawed hand in the direction of the assembled Constructicons.

"Do you have the canister of Allspark energy?" Shockwave spoke up, Barricade cocked his head in the direction of the east wall inside the hangar as he refused to move in order to bring it to the Apache helicopter.

"Good we'll use it to activate the map once we locate the artefact." The silver Raptor said.

"Wait, I thought we were gonna use the Allspark energy to resurrect Megatron once we get his body back from the humans." Skywarp interjected, Starscream growled lowly in the back of his throat at his trine mate's words. After all he wanted to find the device the could regenerate the Allspark, not bring back the deceased Decepticon tyrant.

"That was the plan after all, was it not Starscream?" The cold and emotionless voice of Shockwave inquired.

The silver Raptor glared at his black and purple counterpart "Of course."

"After all did you not say that it was the purpose of the Allspark shard to activate the map device?" The Apache helicopter continued.

Starscream sneered at the purple mech before glancing at Barricade "Have you procured the shard from the Autobots?"

The shock trooper's arms fell down next to his sides, clawed fingertips twitching "No." He wasn't going to lie, after all he was fed up with doing all the ground work all the time. The Mustang suddenly felt a surge of protectiveness towards the Autobot sparkling, if he allowed Starscream to lay a servo on the infant Cybertronian then effectively he was signing the sparkling's death warrant. Barricade growled lowly, he knew he shouldn't be feeling this way towards his brother's offspring, but his natural instincts kept overriding his processor.

"You mean to tell me that you can't kill one simple Autobot, you're becoming weak Barricade." The silver Raptor spat as he stepped toward the shock trooper.

"Especially since we believe the Allspark shard was absorbed by the sparkling that was recently created." Skywarp said off-handedly, Starscream snapped his head round in the direction of the Mustang and his gaze narrowed dangerously as he glared at the black and white mech.

"What else have you been hiding from me?" Starscream snarled as he clenched clawed fingertips into fists, his entire posture becoming rigid and threatening.

"Nothing that concerns you and your greed for power slagtard." Barricade spat back as he stood his ground, he refused to be intimidated by the silver Raptor who had a murderous glint in his crimson optics.

"Careful there 'Cade, you're startin' to sound like an Autobot." Skywarp said as he gave his comrade a sideways glance "in fact I think six years on this miserable planet has softened you."

The shock trooper was taken back by that statement from the purple and black Raptor. Was it true? Had this planet really softened him to the point that he was behaving like their enemy? He inwardly cursed himself and everything else especially the Autobot sparkling, after all if it hadn't been for the connection, he would still be the cold blooded killer he had trained to be not some pathetic scrap heap that he had now become. Suddenly the words he spoke to Prowl all those months ago came back to haunt him about being weak, and now was beginning to understand that he had really been hiding behind the façade of an assassin, ignoring his more docile nature that he had, had before the war started all those vorns ago. Barricade was drawn out of his thoughts when he heard one of his former comrades shift in his stance, his blood red optics narrowed dangerously as his predictive programming sprung to life warning him of a possible attack. He shifted into a combat ready stance, willing to take on anything that was suddenly tossed his way.

Starscream turned to face Barricade and flipped out his set of claws, crimson optics narrowing upon the shock trooper "In that case I believe you have lived out your usefulness." The Mustang snarled in defiance at the Raptor just before Starscream leapt.

* * * * * * * * * *

**A/N:** Oh don't you just love cliffhangers Mwhahaha *runs away quickly* lol, I apologise for these chapters being slow, but don't worry its going to be picking up very shortly I promise you.

Read & Review! ^_^


	16. Diego Garcia

I wanna thank everyone aka** Elita One, Optimus Bob, optimus prime 007, Shizuka Taiyou, renegadewriter8, LiYaNa1995, wickked3659** who reviewed this fic, you guys are really awesome, your reviews certainly made me smile. Also thanks to those who have added this fic to their favourites. So here's the next one for you!

**Warnings:** Use of profanities, fluff, slight bit of gore, violence, angst

**Disclaimer**: Not mine, I just toy with with them and hand them back in less than pristine condition.

_'Blah' – thoughts_

_**::Blah:: - Radio Communication**_

_:/blah\: - Inter. comm._

_**:://Blah\\:: Bond communication**_

* * * * * * * * * *

The atmosphere at the Tranquillity base had been undeniably tense since the attack a few days prior which left some of the Autobots paranoid and suspicious towards their human allies (or in Red Alert's case, it made the security director even more paranoid, if that was possible, to the point he would glitch). It didn't help the matter when they were all stuck in the same hangar since the underground base had become uninhabitable to both human and Cybertronian alike, so Prowl was currently relishing in the chance to escape the base even if it was to chase up a Decepticon distress signal that was broadcasting upon their comm. frequencies. The tactician hadn't wanted to leave the base at first as he was concerned for the welfare of his mate and child, but Jazz had insisted that he go for two reasons; one to prevent Ironhide from the killing the Decepticon that had dared to contact them which they knew could be part of an elaborate plan to draw some of them out. The second reason was that the saboteur could feel an incredible amount of anger radiating off his bonded that wasn't all directed at the humans and the Decepticons. The Solstice had tried to press him for answers since his behaviour was clearly upsetting Bluestreak despite the filter on the bond, the tactician had been half tempted to tell his mate about what he had discovered, but knew now was not the time especially since Jazz was still recovering from his injuries inflicted on him by Wreckage.

Prowl had never intended to hack into his leader's comm. link (a skill taught to him by his mate), but after the attack from the humans and the increase of Decepticon numbers on Earth. The tactician was concerned that Optimus and the human John Keller could easily be overpowered, injured or worse; killed, then they would be facing the reality of being leaderless (although being 2IC, he would naturally have to step forward) and having to explain to the humans government how one of their public servants was dead. The Dodge Charger knew Optimus was more than capable of protecting himself from harm, but adding a human to the mix could easily hinder the Prime's concentration when it came to battling the Decepticons. That concern and duty to his leader had him hacking into his Commander's comm. link carrier frequency, and inevitably discovering the information Optimus intended to keep from them until the situation called for it. Prowl had nearly crashed his logic circuits which would have drawn unwanted attention from the others, when he overheard that his son could be the Allspark regenerated. The tactician couldn't understand how that could be unless … unless somehow the sparkling had absorbed the Allspark shard during his development inside the gestation chamber. If that was the case, he briefly wondered if Bluestreak had been imbued with any of its powers, or had Jazz's body converted its metallic compound so the material could be absorbed by the infant? He wondered briefly if Ratchet had known about this and if so why hadn't he told them?

There were so many questions that needed answering and Prowl was determined that he was going to get them, after all this concerned his child and he needed all available information if he was to prevent his offspring from falling into the wrong hands. The tactician knew he would have to reassess the probabilities and variables that his battle computer had presented to him when he first discovered that his mate was sparked. But right now his main priority was to locate the Decepticon transmitting the signal that Skyfire had detected and determine whether or not he was a threat. Prowl glanced around the corner of the derelict warehouse and across the stretch of land, his azure optics settling upon the other building not far from his position. Behind him, ready to leap into action at a moments notice if it turned out to be a trap was Sideswipe, Ironhide and Ratchet.

_:/Let's go slag the fragger already.\:_ The red Lamborghini transmitted over the comm. link.

_:/I agree with the kid.\:_ The weapons specialist said as he flexed his fingers whilst his plasma cannons whirled to life.

_:/As much as I would like to allow you to terminate this Decepticon so we have one less to worry about, Optimus' orders were to bring him back to base alive.\:_ Prowl responded, he felt a brief flash of anger towards his leader but quickly pushed it aside.

_:/Then we need to secure the fragger now.\: _The front-liner said as he shifted restlessly upon his pedes.

_:/I don't think he's going to go very far Sideswipe.\: _Ratchet replied _:/as from what what my sensors are telling me, he appears to be injured.\:_

Sideswipe glanced at the medic curiously _:/You can tell that from all the way over here?\: _The CMO simply shot him a withering glare before returning his attention back to the building in front of them that supposedly housed the injured Decepticon.

_:/Ironhide I want you to circle round to the left, Sideswipe to the right, Ratchet you're with me.\: _The Dodge Charger instructed as he thumbed the safety off his rifle, he heard both the weapons specialist and the front-liner grumble their responses before he disappeared from sight. Prowl slipped out from behind the warehouse and began silently making his way over to the other building, his optics continuously checking his surroundings. Once he had reached the other derelict warehouse, he beckoned Ratchet over before gesturing to both Ironhide and Sideswipe to which positions to take up. The tactician's sensors immediately told him there was only one mech inside of the building and that the CMO had been right, the Decepticon was badly injured. However what took him completely by surprise was that he could feel Barricade's presence very close by and was beginning to suspect that his older sibling had been the one to draw them out there. Prowl frowned if that was the case what did his brother want from them? After all he had been dead set on killing him, his mate and his child several months ago, and now it seemed he wanted their help.

The tactician crept towards the large iron doors with rifle pointed at the ready before he reached for one of the handles and gave it a tug, it screeched on its hinges as the old doors were forced open. He peered around the door and into the dark vast space beyond, he switched over to night vision and immediately spotted the slumped frame of the shock trooper in one of the corners. The Dodge Charger could see from his position that crimson optics weren't lit which could only mean one thing; Barricade was unconscious or in stasis lock, however he was not one to be fooled lightly. After all the other black and white mech was still a Decepticon and this still could all be a ploy. Prowl proceeded into the warehouse cautiously, he focused each of his sensors upon not only the mech directly in front of him but out toward the surrounding areas whilst Ironhide and Sideswipe fanned out on to the sides, their own weapons trained upon the still form of the shock trooper.

_:/I'm not readin' any other signals Prowl, but that doesn't mean that their not around.\:_ The weapons specialist informed the tactician.

_:/I agree therefore I want to you to take Sideswipe and patrol the perimeter, I want to be notified the moment something appears out of the ordinary.\:_ The Dodge Charger ordered.

The black GMC Top kick truck transferred his gaze from the seemingly off-line Decepticon to his superior officer _:/No offence Prowl, but I ain't leavin' ya here with that fragger, we all know what he's capable of.\:_

_:/I don't think he'll be capable of anything in his current state.\: _Prowl told the weapons specialist, his azure gaze remained upon the black and white form of his older brother _:/Ratchet and I will be fine.\:_ Ironhide scrutinised him closely before calling over the red twin and leaving the confines of the warehouse to begin patrol outside.

_:/Ratchet what's your prognosis?\: _The tactician inquired as he swept his gaze over the shock trooper's form. Most of Barricade's armour was shredded in many places whilst some plates were missing entirely, it truly looked as though his brother had been caught up in Devastator's vortex and spat back out. The Dodge Charger briefly wondered who would leave Barricade in this pitiful state, and knew instantly that it would have had to have been another Decepticon. After all, all capable Autobots had been conscripted into packing up the base and getting everything moved to Diego Garcia, so it had to be his own faction, although it had begged the question as to why they had attacked him when he was one of their own? But Prowl knew the only way they were going to get answers was by stabilising the shock trooper and get him transferred back to base.

_:/His energy levels are low so I've induced a stasis lock to conserve what reserves he has left, but he needs allot of work done before he'll be fully functional again.\: _The CMO told him _:/you know Ironhide and Sunstreaker would prefer it if he just off-lined?\:_

_:/I know, but orders are orders Ratchet.\: _The tactician turned to face the medic _:/no matter how much we don't like it, get him stabilised as best as you can.\:_

_:/How do you plan to get him back to base?\:_ The Hummer inquired raising a single optic ridge as he glanced at the black and white mech. He could tell Prowl was anxious to be back with his mate and child after everything that had gone on with the humans, he knew Optimus would have Jazz and the infant shipped out to Diego Garcia as quickly as possible in case the Decepticons decided to attack them whilst they were out in the open and unprotected.

Prowl gave him a pointed look whilst door wings flared out _:/I have already contacted Major Lennox and he's on his way here, in the mean time just do what you can for him Ratchet.\:_ The medic nodded before hesitantly making his way over to the shock trooper and knelt down beside the off-line form, Ratchet removed his med-kit from sub-space and opened it up and placed it down beside him. He scanned Barricade with the portable scanner determining where the worst injuries were located before beginning work on sealing torn energon and coolant lines. The CMO disguised as a search and rescue Hummer worked quickly and quietly whilst Prowl stood guard, with his acid pellet rifle at the ready.

_:/Looks like that no good fragger Starscream caused these injuries.\: _Ratchet said as he shifted the Mustang's bulk so he was lying on his side in order to get to the injuries upon his back.

_:/Starscream and Barricade have never seen optic to optic.\ _Prowl replied.

The medic removed a ebony painted armour plate to reach the torn circuitry beneath _:/Well this had to be one heck of a disagreement if Starscream was willing to take out one of his own.\:_

_:/Or Starscream was looking to remove any of Megatron's loyal followers from the fold, afraid of the resistance he would get now that he has more than likely taken command.\:_ The tactician responded as he made his way across and knelt down beside his older sibling, his optics scrutinising the damaged form of the shock trooper. He briefly wondered what Barricade had done to earn the Aerial Commander's ire, although Starscream really didn't need a reason to attack one of his own, they had seen it often enough during battles or just after Megatron had called a retreat. His logic centre presented him with a small probability that the shock trooper would join them even if it was to exact revenge upon the F22 Raptor, although if that did occur he would then have to concern himself with the safety of his mate and child since Barricade had every intention of killing them. Not too mention that he would only be adding to the hostilities and bad atmosphere already upon the base. But it was a risk he was willing to take despite the processor ache it caused.

_:/Well that's the best I can do until we get to Diego Garcia.\:_ Ratchet informed him.

_:/Understood.\: _The Dodge Charger stood up and scanned the interior of the warehouse before he accessed his radio communications _**::Ironhide, contact Major Lennox and get his ETA.::**_

_**::I take it the slagger hasn't keeled over then?:: **_Came the weapons specialist's enquiry, Prowl could help but hear hopeful enthusiasms in the older mech's voice.

_**::No in fact Ratchet tells me is he is stable enough for transport.:: **_The tactician told him, he heard Ironhide curse, there was no doubt the weapons specialist was hoping that Barricade would die from his wounds so he had one less Decepticon to deal with _**::so can you get Major Lennox's ETA ... now.::**_

_**::Ya sure ya ain't doing this because he's your brother?:: **_The GMC Top kick dared to provoke, the Dodge Charger's door wings flared out and rose up into a high 'V' formation upon his back.

The black and white mech clenched one of his hands into a fist which drew Ratchet's attention _**::I gave you an order and I suggest you follow through with it.:: **_Ironhide terminated the comm. link on his end which only added to the tactician's ire. The medic quirked an optic ridge up at the tactician, he had noticed how Prowl had been behaving since the attack on the base and could understand if he was being largely affected by what had happened a couple of days prior at the base. But the tactician rarely if ever got angry with the others even when reprimanding them. However for now he decided to push it to the back of his mind for now since they had other concerns such as one unconscious Decepticon they had to transport back to the base before making the journey to Diego Garcia.

_:/Is everything alright Prowl?\: _The CMO inquired as he cleared his tools away and stepped back from Barricade's prone form.

The Dodge Charger vented a sigh out of his intakes _:/Everything is fine Ratchet I'm just … somewhat anxious about getting back to my family.\:_

A small smile appeared upon the older mech's facial plates _:/That's understandable, but they'll be fine once they reach Diego Garcia.\:_

_:/That's what I'm worried about, they are both in a highly vulnerable position with an incredibly high percentage, that if they are attacked, neither of them will survive it.\:_ Prowl told him, his gaze never leaving his brother's frame _:/I could have lost both of them Ratchet when the humans attacked and I would have been powerless to prevent it from happening.\: _Ratchet gripped one of the smaller mech's upper arms in a reassuring squeeze before quickly checking over their prisoner. The tactician nodded in acknowledgement of the small gesture of comfort offered to him by the medic before he began to pace, the CMO knew such a act was a very rare occurrence for the 2IC but understood that the Dodge Charger was more than anxious to get back to his mate and child, if only just to make sure they were both okay.

Prowl was drawn out of his own line of thoughts when he felt the familiar buzz of his comm. link _**::Prowl here.::**_

_**::Major Lennox has arrived.:: **_It was Sideswipe that responded.

_**::Understood.:: **_The tactician replied before he closed the comm. link, he met Ratchet's curious gaze then relayed the message. Between the pair of them they picked up the shock trooper and carried him outside where a rather disgruntled looking Ironhide and Sideswipe were stood, neither of them moved to help as the tactician and the medic set the Mustang upon the trailer bed and secured his off-line frame. The humans looked on with grim expressions upon their faces, they were none too pleased about taking this particular Decepticon into custody after what had happened the last time. Once Barricade was secure upon the semi truck's trailer, Ratchet and Prowl covered his form with a tarp in order to hide him from the public eye. It didn't take long before the 2IC and the CMO completed the task with some help from the human soldiers, then they stepped away from the loaded semi truck.

"Ready when you are Major." Prowl said as he glanced down at Lennox, Will nodded before ordering his men to move out. Sideswipe and Ratchet dropped into their alt. modes and followed after the military Humvees and the truck whilst the tactician and the weapons specialist shared a brief look, one that told the 2IC that Ironhide believed they were making a mistake in allowing Barricade to live let alone be allowed onto the new base. However a flicker from the Dodge Charger's raised door wings clearly told the older mech not to say a word, after all they were here on Optimus' orders and not on some personal mission.

The top kick truck wisely kept his mouth plates shut however he did cast the 2IC one last dark look before sinking into his alt. mode and following after the others. Prowl vented a sigh from his intakes, the hot air expelled appeared as a fine white mist in the cold air in front of him, he understood everyone was feeling the tension at the moment and adding a Decepticon to the mix was only going to make things much worse. His azure gaze swept across his surroundings when he detected a small but barely interpretable insect buzz not too far from his position, the tactician scanned the area using infra-red and immediately spotted an insect resting upon of one of the dilapidated concrete walls, however his optic ridges furrowed when his sensors told him that it comprised of metallic compounds rather than organic. The black and white mech made his way across quickly and quietly as not to startle the Decepticon spy before expertly plucking it off the wall before it realised he was there. Immediately Prowl terminated it to stop it broadcasting whatever data it had been transmitting before storing it in his sub-space once he made sure any tracking devices had been disabled. He knew he would have to check the shock trooper before he was loaded onto one of the last C17's, after all he knew this could be a ply by the Decepticons.

_**::Prowl where the frag are you?:: **_Ratchet demanded over the comm. link.

_**::I'm on my way Ratchet, I was momentarily distracted by a small unwanted visitor.:: **_The 2IC told him as he converted into his vehicle mode and tore out of the industrial complex _**::I suggest that Barricade is checked over for any devices that could transmit his location once we return to the base.::**_

_**::Understood.:: **_The medic responded. Prowl knew his behaviour could be described as possibly suspicious with him remaining behind briefly, but it had been for a good reason. After all they could not afford to be followed by the enemy. The tactician quickly caught with the convoy as they travelled back to the now decommissioned air base. Most of the base's contents had already been transferred despite most of it, furniture included, had to be flat packed or dissembled, allow of the much smaller less important stuff would follow after them once the other C17's returned and the semi trucks made their way back from the sea ports where large cargo ships were on stand by. They wanted to be shipped out of the U.S as quickly as possible, in case of an inland attack from the Decepticons. The group soon reached the base that was alive with activity as the last of the base was cleared out and ready to be sealed whilst other NEST personnel helped load one of the last three C17's to take off. Optimus greeted them the moment they arrived and immediately asked them how the retrieval mission had gone.

"We got him Prime." Ironhide said, sounding none too pleased as he unfolded from his alt. mode "the fragger Barricade was the one broadcastin' the signal."

"Barricade? .. Is he …?" Prime began to inquire.

"Still alive." Prowl replied.

The semi Peter-built nodded although he was perplexed as to the reason why the Decepticon would contact them "Very well get him loaded on board one of the C17's. We're about to move out."

"Prime I want to be one the same flight as our prisoner, I need to monitor his condition." Ratchet told his leader which earned him surprised and outraged responses from his remaining comrades.

"What?!" Sideswipe demanded as he turned to look at the medic.

Ironhide met his chartreuse counterpart's gaze "Slag no, what if that slagger comes back online?!"

"We will have him in stasis cuffs the entire time so if by some small chance Barricade is able to come out of stasis lock, he will be able to do no harm." Prowl responded coolly.

"We?" The medic inquired as he glanced at the 2IC, raising a single optic ridge as he did so.

The tactician met his gaze "Yes we, if you are to keep watch over Barricade's condition during transit, then I will accompany you so if the impossible should happen, you will have someone to watch your back."

"Not that I don't trust you Prowl, but wouldn't it serve better if Sideswipe or I travelled with Ratch?" The weapons specialist asked.

Prowl transferred his gaze from the CMO to the black mech "It would however you would have to guarantee Barricade reached the new base in one piece."

"I rather he didn't get there at all, have ya thought about what that slag heap might be capable of should he lay his hands on your sparklin'?!" Ironhide demanded, the weapons specialist was feeling overly protective towards Bluestreak right this instant as he knew what the Decepticons were capable of. After all they had destroyed countless nurseries back on Cybertron, wiping out hundreds of sparklings within seconds before they even had a chance to take a breath outside of their maturation chamber.

"Ironhide." Ratchet warned as he saw the tactician's composure change dramatically.

The tactician stepped forwards, door wings flared and rigid whilst his hands clenched into fists "Do not think that I haven't thought of the possibility, I have spent as much of my time going over the base schematics with Red Alert, time might I add I should have spared for my mate and my son."

Optimus stepped in-between the pair "Alright that's enough, I understand that we're all feeling the tension at the moment, but we do not need to be fighting amongst ourselves." He levelled a glare at his 2IC and his weapons specialist, the pair of them nodded "now let's get loaded up, Ratchet, Prowl you have my permission to travel with Barricade but I want period check ins." The medic and the Dodge Charger nodded in acknowledgement before making their way across to the C17 the Decepticon was being loaded into. Optimus watched the pair of them go before he caught Ironhide's gaze, he knew that the weapons specialist believed that he was making a mistake in letting Prowl go as guard detail.

"The kid's got issues at the moment, he's not thinkin' clearly, one mistake Optimus and we could lose both him and Ratch." The GMC Top kick truck voiced out loud as he, the Autobot Commander and Sideswipe headed over to the transport plane they were being shipped in.

"I know old friend but I trust him explicitly, I know he'll make the right call if it comes to it." Optimus replied as they folded into their alt. modes and drove up the gang way and into the cargo hold.

_**::I hope you're right about that.:: **_Ironhide said as he pulled up the red Lamborghini.

_'As do I.'_ The Prime thought to himself as he felt the human soldiers secure him in place inside the hangar. He just hoped Prowl would make the right judgement call like he had to with Megatron (despite the fact that it had been Sam who had terminated him) when it came to Barricade, to prevent him from becoming a threat to the others and to the base.

* * * * *

The journey to Diego Garcia had been long and uneventful and soon the tiny isolated island appeared. Optimus was drawn out of his light recharge when he felt a few sharp tugs upon the straps securing him; a procedure he still found un-nerving but fundamental as the large transport plane began its descent. Finally after months of planning and a couple of days to pack nearly everything, his team would be setting foot upon the island that was to be their home until either the humans or he decided otherwise. The Prime received a short data burst from Ratchet letting him know that he and Prowl had arrived safely and were currently moving Barricade to the holding area. The Autobot leader knew that fact would grate upon Ironhide as the weapons specialist had high hopes that the shock trooper would die from his wounds so they would have one less Decepticon to deal with. He had to admit he had his own concerns about Barricade being kept prisoner here on Diego Garcia especially since Bluestreak would be far more accessible than he had been before, but he suspected that the shock trooper would find it difficult to escape as the cells had been designed with Jazz's prowess at being able to escape confined spaces, in mind.

Optimus was jolted out of his thoughts when he felt the plane's wheels touch the tarmac before he heard the sound of the C17's engines powering down a few moments later. Like every time, the human NEST soldiers would unfasten their straps before giving the word for them to disembark before grabbing their gear and leaving the plane themselves. The Prime immediately felt the heat of the mid-day sun hit him as he left the confines of the hangar and knew immediately the high temperature was going to give him a processor ache in the form of Sunstreaker once the gold Lamborghini was back up on his feet. Once he had enough room to transform, he folded out of his alt. mode and stretched, his gaze wandered over the base's terrain as it was very much different than the one back at Tranquillity. The Autobot leader heard the familiar sound of the others transforming behind him as he began moving forwards following after the soldiers. Optimus immediately heard Major Lennox order one of the other soldiers to inform General Morshower that they had arrived at Diego Garcia before he spotted the man making his way toward him with Epps in tow.

" … Couldn't ask for a better place to be in really. Sun, sea, sand, we got it all in one." The Master Sergeant was saying as the two men approached.

"Yea but have you seen the size of the crabs here?" Lennox asked as he glanced at his comrade.

"Come on you can't tell me you're afraid of a crab now, you can just shoot the dam thing if it so much flicks a pincer in your direction." Epps replied.

"Actually Sergeant, there is a particular species of crab that is protected out here." The Prime informed them, directing their attention to him "is every one accounted for Major?"

"Every one is accounted for Optimus." Lennox replied "we've got a few last cargo drop off's that should be here within the next few days at the latest."

"Understood." The semi Peter-built nodded in acknowledgement before he accessed his comm. link to find out where his Autobots were, he found most of them were currently assisting in inventory checking making sure everything had made it there before the equipment was removed from storage and installed in the appropriate sections of the base. Whilst others were assisting in the actual installation as the command centre (although there was a pre-existing one already at the base, it was currently in the process of being upgraded), the security monitoring room and the med-bay were a priority to have up and running at the end of the day at the most. Optimus made his way toward the base and stepped through the security check point which scanned him to verify who he was before letting him through, he knew without a doubt Red Alert would have the system thoroughly upgraded as soon as he could. He accessed a map of the layout of the base and moved through the interconnecting hallways making sure not to step on or get in the way of the human soldiers or other military personnel as they went about their assigned duties. The Prime knew that once the command centre was completed and up and running, he knew he would be stuck in a conference with the humans military in order to plan an offence and a defence against the Decepticons. That meant he needed to locate both Prowl and Trailbreaker and get them started on planning strategies that could be utilised by both human and Autobot, and he knew exactly where he was likely to find the former of the two.

The semi Peter-built quickly checked the med-bay but didn't catch sight of black and white plating in the throng of activity, although he did hear Ratchet cursing quite vehemently which had several human doctors and nurses scurrying away. Optimus knew then that there was only one other place his military strategist was likely to be; the holding area unless of course he had been called away for parental duty. The Prime decided that he would need to give his 2IC some time away from his duties so he could spend it with his family, but knew that Prowl was likely to put his obligation to the Autobots first especially now that they had a Decepticon prisoner in their brig. The large red and blue mech wasn't sure of what was to become of Barricade once they managed to get any Intel. from him, in fact he still couldn't understand why the shock trooper had contacted them in the first place as he had always been a firm believer in the Decepticon beliefs and a loyal follower and soldier to Megatron. He knew this would play heavily upon his 2IC's mind as it simply didn't make any sense that Barricade would have all of a sudden want to change faction, unless of course it was a ploy in order to get close to Bluestreak and sound out his and their location to the other Decepticons.

Optimus was drawn out of his thoughts when he stopped in front of the heavily armoured titanium door that separated the rest of the base from the holding area. He entered the code into the pad and stepped aside as the large door opened. Immediately he spotted Prowl and Sideswipe at the far end of the cell block with a team of heavily armed humans, he approached the cell that they had placed Barricade inside of and was instantly met with words of acknowledgement or salutes. The Prime glanced inside the cell to find Wheeljack beginning some of the repairs he was capable of before Ratchet made his way down.

"Prowl a moment if you don't mind." The semi Peter-built asked, his 2IC glanced at him before he nodded. The black and white mech relayed a few instructions to the red Lamborghini before following their leader to the end of the corridor and out of the holding area entirely. Optimus turned to face his 2IC and saw the cold, calculating look upon Prowl's facial plates, however he also happened to notice how tired he looked. And now the Prime felt guilty about adding to the tactician's workload "I understand that you already have enough to contend with Prowl, but once the command centre is up and running, the humans military will want a conference to outline a strategic plan to counter any attacks from the Decepticons. I unfortunately need to call upon your services in this matter."

"Yes Sir." Prowl responded " I'll see to it that you have primary and secondary battle scenarios and strategies to combat them to you at the end of the day."

"Thank you, I understand that you already have a lot to contend with, with what's going on." Optimus said, although he happened to notice a minute stiffening in the tactician's frame "how is Jazz and Bluestreak?"

"They're both in the repair bay, Ratchet wanted to make sure they both came out of their sedation okay." The Dodge Charger replied as he folded his arms across his chest "the fragger even tossed me out after he arrived as he believed my pacing was too much of a distraction." The Prime would have smiled at hearing his 2IC curse, but the serious expression upon his facial plates told him that Prowl was none too happy at the thought of being separated from his family for a longer period of time.

"Give it a few hours and Ratchet will be a little more complacent about allowing visitors into his domain." The semi Peter-built truck suggested with a small reassuring smile.

"Maybe." Prowl replied as he glanced off to the side.

Optimus sighed "Prowl I truly understand your anxiety about wanting to be with them at this moment in time."

"Forgive me Sir but I don't think you do." The tactician told him as their gazes met, the Prime wanted to tell him right there and then that his 2IC was wrong on that assumption as he understood the parental anxiety Prowl was currently experiencing intimately "the fear I've been feeling for the past week is something I've never felt before, and it's only gotten worse since I learned of Bluestreak's condition."

The semi Peter-built felt his fuel pump almost stall in his chest, had Prowl somehow learned about his sparkling's unique condition? Optimus decided to play it safe for now, not sure how his 2IC would react if he blurted it out now and told him everything he knew "Condition? Is everything alright? Did something happen during transport?"

The Dodge Charger's entire frame tensed and his door wings flared "No everything is fine but I …" He hesitated, an act that was unlike the black and white mech "... I want to know why you thought it was imperative to keep valuable information about Bluestreak from Jazz and I?" Optimus could tell by looking at Prowl that the tactician wasn't angry with him in anyway, just disappointed.

The Prime vented a sigh out of his intakes, the cat was now out of the bag " I never intended to keep you sparkling's condition from either of you, but we felt it was necessary to keep the information until we thought you were ready. After all you had just become progenitors, it was the last thing we wanted to add to your concerns at the time."

"We?" Prowl inquired curiously, although one of his hands curled up into a fist and his door wings twitched.

"Ratchet and I." The semi Peter-built replied.

"Ratchet also knew about this?" The Dodge Charger asked with a some what sharp tone "he has an obligation as chief medical officer to inform Jazz and I of any life threatening ailments or 'conditions' that could not only affect Bluestreak but us as well."

Optimus could not just detect the subtle tints of anger in his 2IC's posture "I ordered Ratchet not to tell you."

"Why?!" Prowl demanded.

"We were dealing with a security breach at the time, the last thing we wanted was for knowledge about Bluestreak to fall into the wrong hands." The Prime responded feeling his own temper beginning to flare, he knew he could end this now. After all he didn't have to explain himself to his 2IC, but a part of him felt that he owed Prowl an explanation as to why he wanted to protect the new family. However it did beg the question as to how the military strategist had learned of the sparkling's possible unique condition.

"But it happened regardless didn't it? That was why the humans attacked us back in Tranquillity, they already knew about Bluestreak and the probability that he could be the Allspark regenerated." The tactician said, anger infusing his frame entirely. Had he known about this, he could have prevented it all from happening by taking greater measures by allowing the security upgrades to be carried out.

"Prowl I regret not informing either of you about this as I have my own reasons I'm not at liberty to discuss, but trust me when I tell you that I will do everything in my power to prevent anything from happening to your son." The large red and blue mech told the smaller black and white mech.

"Trust Optimus? Trust is built on the foundations of not being lied too or having information being kept secret." The Dodge Charger replied as he met his commander's gaze.

"Then you yourself are being a hypocrite, by keeping what you know from Jazz or how you know about all this." Optimus said.

"As you have said yourself Sir, there must be a right time to inform an individual of what you know and I will tell Jazz when the situation calls for it." Prowl stated calmly, although the Prime knew he was anything but calm. Not that he could blame him, he would be livid if someone kept any valuable information from him.

"I really hope I'm not interrupting anything?" Came Ratchet's voice down the corridor, both mechs glanced at him to see the medic scrutinising them closely as he approached the pair.

"No." They both replied.

The CMO glanced from the Autobot leader to the 2IC "Uh-huh and Megatron isn't rustin' in peace at the bottom of the ocean. What's going on?"

"Nothing." The tactician responded sharply. Ratchet glanced at Optimus, the Prime shook his head telling his CMO not to pursue the subject any further.

"Right, anyway your mate has just regained consciousness and is asking for you." The Hummer told the Dodge Charger, Prowl nodded in acknowledgement before taking his leave. The pair watched him disappear before Ratchet glanced at his leader.

"Dare I ask?" He inquired.

"Prowl knows about Bluestreak's unique 'condition', how? I don't know." Optimus responded before he vented a wearied sigh out of his intakes.

"Looks like the Decepticons won't be the only ones fighting amongst themselves if we're not careful." The medic said as he keyed in the code to the holding area.

"I hope it doesn't come to that Ratchet." The Prime replied as he followed his CMO into the cell block, he couldn't help shake the feeling that the situation was going to become a lot more complicated than he first thought.

* * * * * * * * * *

There wasn't one part of him that didn't ache, Barricade mused as he on-lined his systems. He accessed his diagnostic systems and most of the readouts came back green which troubled him at first, as the last thing the shock trooper remembered was the numerous red warnings appearing on his HUD before his systems took themselves off-line in order to conserve whatever energy reserves he had left. Barricade on-lined his optics and immediately a grey ceiling entered his peripheral vision, he frowned at that as he attempted to push himself up into a sitting position. It was then that he felt the distinct tug upon his spark which could mean only one thing.

"I wouldn't try that if I were you, Ratchet gets rather irritated when one pulls any of his repairs out of place." Barricade twisted his body up and around at the sound of that familiar calm and collected voice despite his wearied frame protesting the sudden movement. His four crimson optics settled upon the black and white form of his brother who was stood on the other side of the glowing and humming bars of the cell he was in. From his new position, the shock trooper could see the heavily armed humans who were either ignoring him or casting glares in his direction. Barricade could tell that his younger brother was agitated and tense despite no emotion being shown upon his facial plates, it was the door wings upon Prowl's back that gave away his current mood as they twitched in their flared out position. The sensory panels had always displayed what mood the other black and white mech was in unless of course he displayed it openly, but that was on a very rare occasion.

"I have a few questions for you." The tactician said drawing the Mustang out of his train of thoughts.

"Of course you do." Barricade growled as he attempted to push himself upwards so he was standing up on his pedes, however with both his arms and legs shaking under any weight placed upon them, quickly thwarted that plan "well what do you want to know ... baby brother?"

A barely interpretable frown knitted the other black and white's optic ridges together "Why did you contact us?"

"Hmm good question, but brother you're intelligent enough, I'm sure you'll figure it out." The shock trooper replied as he settled himself back on the berth "next."

The frown deepened upon Prowl facial plates "Then where are the Decepticons and what are they planning?"

A small groan of pain escaped the Mustang's vocaliser as he pulled himself up into a sitting position "The last time I saw those back stabbing fraggers, they were in the Nevada desert. And as what they are up too? Well only time will tell." Prowl was about to open his mouth plates to direct his next question when the door to the cell block opened and a voice sounded down the corridor.

"Prowl what the frag are you doing? You better not be interrogating my patient or so help me Primus I'll reformat you into a kitchen appliance." Came Ratchet's voice as the medic entered the cell block with Sunstreaker following close behind the CMO, weapon already drawn and knowing the gold Lamborghini, the safety would also be off as well.

"I find that highly unlikely to happen Ratchet, given then that I would be of no use to Jazz." The tactician responded as he stepped back away from the cell. Barricade scrutinised the three Autobots and the team of humans closely wondering what was about to transpire. His crimson optics remained upon the front-line warrior since he knew Sunstreaker would have no compunction about killing him if he was given the chance "are you sure you want to do this now whilst he's on-line?"

The Hummer glared at the 2IC "Yes I do, I've dealt and treated bigger pain in the afts than him."

"Very well." The Dodge Charger said as he too removed his rifle from sub-space for precautionary measures and thumbed the safety off. Although it was highly unlikely Barricade would try anything when he had several weapons pointed at him. The shock trooper growled in warning and flexed clawed fingers as the electromagnetic charge was disrupted to the cell and the bars retracted into the floor.

"What makes you think I won't dismantle you the moment you step in here medic?" The Mustang threatened as he staggered backwards a couple of steps.

Ratchet stepped into the cell clearly unafraid of the mech who shared the same height as Bumblebee "You won't unless you want these lot ..." He gestured over his shoulder with one of his thumbs toward the armed group "... to undo all of the hard work I've done in restoring you."

Barricade sneered at that "Not everything."

"Your weapons, communications and any tracking devices have all been disabled." Prowl told the shock trooper as he watched the other black and white mech closely, simply waiting for the Mustang to make a small subtle shift in body language that would betray his intentions.

Ratchet knew he was walking into the proverbial lion's den as even without his weaponry, Barricade was still a force to be reckoned with. The medic removed a portable scanner from sub-space and aimed it at the shock trooper, the Mustang snarled at him and flexed clawed fingers. But the CMO simply ignored him as he carried out his scans, he knew that if Barricade even dared to flick even a finger in his direction, Sunstreaker would terminate him without so much as a second thought.

"Everything is functioning normally, although you've pulled one of the welds loose but hopefully if you don't do anything stupid it'll sort itself out." The Hummer directed a glare at the shock trooper as he said this, only to receive one in return.

"Well unlike you Autobots, if one does not recover from a wound quickly it could mean certain death, not orns or cycles worth of restricted activity or overbearing care." The Mustang snapped as he glanced at Prowl and Sunstreaker "are we done?" It wasn't so much as a question but a statement. Ratchet schooled a neutral expression upon his facial plates before he stepped out of the cell, he had been waiting for an attack the moment he had turned his back, but it seemed that Barricade was following his self preservation instincts, much to the gold Lamborghini's disappointment.

Once Ratchet was clear, the bars emerged from the floor and closed off the cell, sealing Barricade inside once again. The medic glanced at the shock trooper before transferring his gaze to the other black and white, he could see a grim expression upon Prowl's facial plates as he held the Mustang's gaze. The chartreuse mech knew a battle of wills was beginning to take place between the brothers, the glare Barricade was shooting in the tactician's direction would have already got the mech to submit if the Dodge Charger had been any other Autobot, but as it was he wasn't and he refused to be intimidated. However he didn't plan to stand there all day trading dark glares with the shock trooper, after all he had a few last pieces of work to complete before he could retreat to the living space assigned to him and his family.

The Dodge Charger activated his comm. link _:/Sunstreaker keep a close optic on him, but under no circumstances are you to step into that cell is that understood?\:_ The front-liner offered Prowl no verbal reply but instead showed his disgruntlement at being denied the opportunity to at least shoot the Decepticon if the situation called for it. The tactician glanced away from Sunstreaker to level one more cold glare in Barricade's direction, he was about to leave when he heard a dark chuckle escape the Mustang.

"Submitting so quickly little brother?" The shock trooper asked as he settled into a crouch in one of the corners whilst ignoring the pain signals his body was sending to his processor.

The Dodge Charger coolly turned to the other black and white mech "I submit to no-one, not even you."

"What about Prime?" Barricade asked, crimson optics glinting maliciously in the low light, he watched as his brother's frame tensed at the mention of the Autobot commander before there was a brief flash of anger transmitting through the bond. Curious as to why Prowl would be angry at Optimus had Barricade attempt to probe the others thoughts only to slam up against a solid and impenetrable wall. However it also happened to open up the connection with Bluestreak slightly so the shock trooper attempted to touch the silver thread of energy that connected parent to child.

_**:: The little one appears healthy and talkative.::**_ The Mustang sneered, although on the inside his demeanour was totally different as Bluestreak attached himself onto the Decepticon's presence. Prowl was startled by the words spoken to him through the bond before his door wings snapped upright and an angry snarl marred the usually calm and collected facial plates. He slammed up a wall separating his sparkling from Barricade despite knowing that it would greatly upset Bluestreak and his creation might possibly be inconsolable for hours.

_**:: You dare touch his mind again and I will kill you where you stand.::**_ The tactician threatened, his entire posture tense and rigid.

Barricade rose to his pedes, his own posture menacing _**::You don't have the ball bearings brother.::**_

The Dodge Charger glowered at him _**:: Try me.::**_ A tense silence filled the room as Prowl and Barricade glared at one another whilst the humans shuffled anxiously on their feet and Ratchet and Sunstreaker shared brief concerned looks with one another, both aware that the 2IC had to be speaking with the Decepticon over their sibling bond. If it still existed, the medic mused. Prowl was drawn out of his thoughts when he felt Jazz's presence brush against his spark, however it wasn't comforting or reassuring in any manner. In fact his mate's presence was downright grouchy and frustrated.

_**:: Prowl get ya aft back ta quarters now!:: **_The saboteur snapped at him. The tactician could feel Bluestreak's distress over the bond and knew instantly that maybe he had made a mistake in harshly separating his sparkling from Barricade like he did. The Dodge Charger vented a sigh of vexation before stalking out of the holding area, but not before the shock trooper got the last word.

"His time is limited Prowl, the Decepticons will come for him and you'll be powerless to stop them when they do." Was the last thing Prowl heard from his sibling before the large heavy titanium door closed with a bang. The tactician growled angrily to himself before making his way out of the heavily guarded and shielded bunker, he made his way through the interconnecting hallways until he reached the residential section. The 2IC really wasn't in the mood for any argument Jazz was preparing to throw at him as he stepped past the other Autobot's living quarters, he finally reached his own and he could already hear Bluestreak's wails which only got louder the moment he stepped inside. His azure optics immediately fell upon the silver frame of his mate limping back and forth whilst trying to calm down their hysterical sparkling. Of course the moment Prowl entered the room, the saboteur's finned helm snapped round and instantly blue optics settled upon the black and white mech.

The Solstice stalked over and deposited the loudly shrieking Bluestreak into his father's arms "See if ya can get 'im ta quiet down, kid's givin' me a slaggin' processor ache." The silver mech stepped away, massaging one of his temples with two of his clawed fingers before he sat down upon the couch that was still covered in the plastic sheet it had been transported in. Between their duties and caring for Bluestreak, the bonded pair barely had the chance to unpack anything but the bare essentials. Jazz's shoulders slumped as his creation's wails continued, although they were disrupted by hiccups and choking. The saboteur hated seeing him in such a state, it even upset him because he was powerless when it came to calming him down, he just didn't understand what had set Bluestreak off like that as he had been happily lying on his activity mat playing.

"I believe this is my fault." The tactician said as he patted the little grey infant's back when a choked sob escaped him.

Jazz glanced up and met his bonded's gaze "How so?"

The Dodge Charger glanced away as he bounced his son on his arms, thankfully the sparkling's wails were beginning to diminish slightly "Barricade he …" He paused as he nuzzled Bluestreak's helm in a comforting manner "... he's discovered that he has a connection with Bluestreak." Prowl heard his mate get up from the couch but refused to meet his gaze "he connected with our son for a brief few seconds before I was able to block him."

The Solstice couldn't decide whether to feel angry at his mate for letting his guard down and exposing Bluestreak or relieved that Prowl had stopped their creation's mind from being touch by a monster. Then it dawned upon him why their sparkling had suddenly gone quiet before his bout of wailing had begun "Now ah understand why he went so quiet whilst he was playin' before his cryin' started." The silver mech began to wonder whether Barricade had touched their creation's mind before now since he identified the silver thread that was their sparkling's link to them quickly and easily. It seemed a 'polite' request was in order with the shock trooper, however it appeared his mate knew what he was thinking as the tactician grabbed one of his wrists and pulled him close to him.

"Jazz promise me you won't go down there?" The Dodge Charger asked, their gazes meeting fully. The saboteur scrutinised his bonded closely, he knew that Prowl's confrontation with his brother hadn't started or ended well. The Solstice also knew that his spark-mate wanted to protect him from the Decepticon in their brig, but the silver mech would have to, one day, face the shock trooper. However for now he would abide to his mate's wishes and not venture near Barricade.

"I promise." Jazz replied. He was finally relieved to hear Bluestreak's wailing calming to soft whimpers and timid clicks and warbles until exhaustion from crying won out and the infant fell into recharge.

"I'll put him down love." Prowl said as he shifted the hand he had grasped his mate's wrist with and cupped one side of Jazz's finned helm "I won't be too long." The tactician placed a chaste kiss upon his bonded's lip components before stepping past the saboteur. The special ops mech vented a sigh as he watched Prowl carry their slumbering son into his room, he knew there was something greatly troubling his mate but knew from past experience that the tactician would tell him when he was ready. Jazz made his way into the bedroom and nestled himself comfortably upon the berth, it wasn't long before Prowl stepped into the room looking positively exhausted in the dim light. The black and white mech crossed the room and eased onto the berth next to his spark-mate. The saboteur shuffled himself closer to Prowl before easing his arms around his frame, encompassing his mate in a loving hug.

"Ya know ya can talk ta me if somethin's botherin' ya." The Solstice whispered next to the tactician's audio.

"I know and I will I promise." Prowl replied as he wrapped his arms about the silver mech's waist, holding the lithe frame close to him. Jazz planted a kiss upon the gold crest upon his mate's forehead before utilising his magnetics to turn the tactician into a relaxed and strutless heap upon their berth. Jazz chuckled at the happy and contented sound that escaped the Dodge Charger's vocaliser, he knew it wouldn't be long before Prowl would succumb to recharge because of his mate's ministrations. The saboteur listened intently as Prowl's systems cycled into recharge, he knew his spark-mate had been largely affected by what had happened several days prior at the Tranquillity base so it was no surprise that the fatigue and tension would finally catch up with him. However it had been no peace walk for him either as he was far more paranoid now than he had ever been in his life, and now with Barricade on the base albeit being held prisoner in their brig, had his sensors on their highest sensitivity and his predictive programming working double time.

The Solstice felt his his mate's grip loosen around him as he slipped deeper into recharge, Jazz smoothed a single clawed digit over the tactician's exposed cheek arch before he slipped out of his bonded's embrace and clambered off the berth. The silver mech quickly and quietly stepped out of the room, he quickly checked up on his slumbering offspring before making his way out of his quarters. Jazz knew that he was breaking his promise to Prowl, but something was compelling him to speak with Barricade and get the answers he wanted. The saboteur wove through the interconnecting corridors silently and with ease, avoiding any security cameras that would betray his transgression against his mate. He checked the duty roster to find Sunstreaker had been placed on guard detail with a small team of humans, however the Solstice knew they would be easy to deal with. Jazz entered the holding area and immediately spotted the gold Lamborghini stood outside the cell that no doubt contained the Decepticon, Sunstreaker glanced in his direction and his optics brightened in surprise briefly before a scowl appeared upon his facial plates.

_:/What are you doing down here Jazz?\:_ The front-liner asked regardless of the fact he was speaking to a superior officer.

_:/Couldn't sleep so I thought I'd come down 'ere, got a few questions I wanna ask olé 'Cade.\:_ Jazz responded as he glanced into the cell and his azure gaze fell upon the prone form of the shock trooper _:/I'll take watch fer now, go an' freshen up.\:_

The front-liner shifted his stance, taking some weight off his still healing leg _:/Prowl gave me an order Jazz an' there's no way I'm going to frag him off by leavin' my post.\:_

_:/Sunny ya shouldn't be down 'ere anyway, ya supposed to be restin' that leg still.\: _The saboteur told him as he glanced at Sunstreaker _:/just take an hour, Prowler's not gonna know, the mech's in deep recharge.\:_

The gold Lamborghini looked at the Solstice suspiciously _:/If you're sure? I don't want to come back to find your lifeless shell on the floor and a pissed off Prowl ready to tear me apart.\:_

Jazz cocked his head to the side in an imitation of an eye roll _:/I'm sure now go 'fore I have Sides breathin' down ma neck coz ma mate placed ya on sentry duty when ya should be restin', now get goin'.\:_ Sunstreaker cast him one last look before limping out of the holding area. The saboteur watched him leave before venting a sigh out of his intakes, the humans were much easier to convince than the gold Lamborghini and some even appeared grateful as they left. The Solstice watched the last of them leave before he glanced back at the cell to find four crimson optics gazing at him from inside.

"Well now you're the last bot I'd expect to see down here." Barricade said as he pushed himself up into a sitting position, ignoring the still numerous pain signals being sent to his processor "I'm surprised that your mate allowed you to come here."

"Prowl doesn't know I'm here." Jazz told him as he folded his arms across his chest.

"Surprising, considering how you two are so inseparable sometimes." The shock trooper sneered, then he noticed the lack of Sunstreaker's presence in the room "where did the psychopathic Lamborghini wander off too?"

"Oh he'll be back." Jazz replied with a slight smile "but I felt I didn't need an audience for this."

"Prime truly doesn't realise how cold blooded some of his troops really are, besides you'll serve to piss off that slagger you call a medic." The Mustang said as he got to his feet and crossed the small space of the cell.

"What makes you think I'm gonna expend valuable energy in tearin' you apart?" The saboteur asked as his arms dropped to his sides "besides what good will you be if your gurglin' in your own mech fluids?"

A dark chuckle escaped Barricade "Spoken like a Decepticon, you sure you weren't sparked as one?"

"If I was, you wouldn't be standin' there still." The Solstice responded darkly.

"See I know you have the ball bearings to terminate me without a second thought, but Prowl? Highly unlikely." The shock trooper said as he began pacing his cell like a caged animal, his every movement was watched closely by the saboteur.

"Unless you're suicidal enough ta plant yaself between him an' our sparklin'." Jazz replied "you under estimate him Barricade."

"Hmm." The Mustang hummed "at least you don't hide the little one's presence from me."

"Because I don't need ta." The saboteur told him as he stepped closer to the cell "I've been aware of ya presence probin' th' link that connects us ta Bluestreak." A brief look of surprise appeared upon Barricade's facial plates before it was schooled into a neutral expression again.

"Well it seems you've both been keepin' secrets from one another." The shock trooper said as he happily watched as a scowl appeared upon the silver mech's facial plates.

"What?" The Solstice demanded, keeping a close lid on his emotions as he didn't want to alert his spark-mate to the fact he wasn't there in the room with him.

"Did you know your beloved mate has had a disagreement with your leader?" The Mustang asked.

"Of course I did, he didn't like th' idea of movin' ta a remote location." Jazz replied "so nice try if you think ya can stir up some tension between us."

The cruel smile upon Barricade's lip components did not fade away "Oh no it has nothing to do with that, it was something else entirely." Crimson optics narrowed "something to do with your creation."

The saboteur's azure optics narrowed and the scowl deepened upon his facial plates, he scrutinised the shock trooper closely, he knew better than to believe the Decepticon. But he couldn't help shake the feeling that Barricade was right somehow. The Solstice couldn't help but notice as well that something had changed in the Mustang, it could have been due to being singled out and attacked by his own faction. But Jazz knew it was deeper than that and the saboteur understood that if he could dig a little further, he might possibly be able to reach the source or the reason behind this small subtle change.

"So out of curiosity, why did you contact us?" The silver mech inquired as he leant against the wall and folded his arms across his chest. Barricade vented a sigh as he glanced away, Jazz noticed immediately that it was not one in vexation, although he did see a slight lock of exasperation appear upon the others facial plates.

"Are you Autobots all incredibly dense?" The shock trooper asked as he glanced at the saboteur who frowned at him in return "do you truly think it would have been smart to contact my own faction after what those back stabbing fraggers did?"

"Well duh I get that moron, the 'why' is what's not processin' with me." The Solstice replied as he pushed himself off the wall "ya fraggin' knew that contactin' us was dangerous especially since ya knew there would be a few of us who would have no problem gunnin' for ya." An amused smile appeared upon the Mustang's lip components. So Prowl's bond-mate was not just all looks, the cunning mech actually had a processor that functioned. However Barricade himself was having trouble in getting his to work as he only had one viable answer for Jazz's previous question.

"The sparkling." The shock trooper mumbled uncharacteristically, hoping that he would be lucky enough that the silver mech wouldn't hear him.

"Ma sparklin'? What about 'im?" The saboteur demanded.

"There's this persistent protective need that keeps buggin' me, its frustrating." The Mustang growled "I'm a Decepticon, why would I want to protect a puny Autobot sparkling." The black and white mech began his pacing anew.

"Coz he's family 'Cade." Jazz told him "ya have that same instinct toward Prowl, had for Smokescreen when he was on-line regardless of the faction ya all choose. That's also why you've never killed them, just put them out of action until you met them again on the battlefield."

Barricade turned sharply to face him, snarl firmly set on his facial plates "Shut up!"

"But I'm right though aren't I? That's the reason why you feel so strongly in wanting to protect Bluestreak, coz its natural, you can't push it aside." The Solstice responded, both clawed hands coiled into fists.

The shock trooper found he couldn't respond immediately as the silver mech had firmly nailed it on the helm about how he felt toward Bluestreak (now he had a name for the infant finally). Barricade had tried to shove the protective paternal instinct he had for the sparkling to the back of his mind, only for it to come back and bite him in the aft no matter how hard he tried. It was probably that infernal instinct that had made him decide subconsciously to contact the Autobots so that in the long run he could protect the infant. However he wasn't doing it because the sparkling was an Autobot, not it was because he was their future, the start of the next generation they all thought they would never have.

"Fraggin' Autobot." The Mustang cursed "I'd kick your aft right now if it were possible." The black and white mech turned briefly away from Jazz as he dug the clawed tip of his thumb into an energon line that was exposed in his wrist joint.

"Hardly." Barricade heard the Autobot saboteur reply to his jibe as he clamped his fingers around the bleeding line coating the digits in the glowing blue liquid. The shock trooper knew the Solstice was close enough to the bars so when he sprung, it took Jazz completely by surprise, the special ops mech immediately tried to fend him off but stopped the moment he felt Barricade's clawed fingers dig into his wrist drawing energon. There was no malice in the Mustang's optics but there was determination as Barricade recited the oath that would bind him to the saboteur but more importantly to Bluestreak. It was slightly differentiated version than the one Mirage then the twins had made as they swore to protect the sparkling with their lives.

Speaking of one of said twins, Sunstreaker chose that moment to re-enter the room. The gold Lamborghini immediately stiffened at the sight before him and drew his rifle out of sub-space without a second thought, he sprinted (as best as he could) down the corridor, he was about to snatch Jazz's hand away and blow a new ventilation hole in Barricade when the saboteur stopped him.

"Sunny wait!" The Solstice shouted as he stared into the shock trooper's crimson optics for any kind of lie or deceit, but he couldn't find any in the gaze staring back at him. He felt the Mustang's grip loosen slightly and Jazz was able to pull his wrist free albeit shakily out of Barricade's grasp.

"What the hell was that about?" The front-liner demanded as he glared at Barricade with a murderous glint in his optics before transferring his gaze to the bloody print upon Jazz's left wrist and forearm.

"Security." The shock trooper chuckled as he stepped backwards.

The saboteur's optics flared in anger "You fragger!" He sprung forward nearly colliding with the bars, clawed fingers extended outwards barely scraping the air right in front of the Mustang's throat.

"Give me one good reason slag heap why I shouldn't kill you now?" Sunstreaker threatened as he aimed his rifle at Barricade with one hand whilst the other was wrapped around Jazz's upper right arm, pulling him away from the cell.

"Because Auto dolt I still have Intel. you need." The shock trooper replied as he sat down upon the single berth, he was not afraid of either Autobot who were currently glaring at him.

"Intel. that can be prised from your cold off-line chassis slagger." The saboteur snapped, now feeling completely betrayed.

"Now your speaking like a Decepticon." The Mustang said, the silver saboteur growled angrily and had to be restrained by the gold front-liner. Although the Lamborghini would have happily set the Solstice on Barricade, but it would have raised far too many questions that he didn't feel like answering.

"What the slag is goin' on down here?" Came a voice down the corridor, both Jazz and Sunstreaker glanced round to see Ironhide striding towards them.

"I wonder how many Autobots it takes just to slag one Decepticon?" The shock trooper asked of no-one in particular.

"Shut up!" The saboteur growled.

"Jazz I suggest ya get that seen to quickly, Prowl's lookin' for you." The weapons specialist told the Solstice. The silver mech felt his fuel pump stutter for a brief moment before he managed to nod in acknowledgement and leave the holding area, although not without one last dark glare aimed at the Mustang. He quickly headed in the direction of the med-bay, he knew deep down that his mate would not remain in recharge without him and would come looking for him. The Solstice knew he could just tell his spark-mate that he couldn't sleep and had headed down to the training room since that would explain the injury simply enough. However he knew that he would have to come clean with the tactician sooner or later especially if Barricade spoke to his mate about the oath he had forged with him. But right now the saboteur had more important things to deal with such as getting to the repair bay then he would deal with his bonded when it came to it.

The Solstice had been lucky enough that Ratchet had believed him when he stepped into the medic's domain, although he figured the CMO knew the real source behind the small injury but said nothing as he fixed the damage. The Hummer had just cleaned it and wrapped it when Prowl entered the med-bay, Jazz had really been expecting an angry Prowl and steered himself for the argument that would ensue, but what he saw instead was a concerned expression upon his mate's facial plates instead.

"Are you alright?" He asked as he rushed over.

"I'm fine." The saboteur responded as he slipped off the berth "I just couldn't sleep and went down to th' trainin' room, this will teach me not ta try an' perfect Diffusion when I'm obviously tired."

"And still healing." Ratchet interjected as he went about clearing away his tools.

"Hmm." The Dodge Charger hummed "or at least without a partner."

The Solstice nudged his mate playfully "Then I'd be in here with dents as well as a split line, considerin' you like ta play rough."

"Okay that's more than I need to know, Jazz your injury will be healed within the next several hours so out the both of you, I have better things to be doing." Ratchet told them as he shooed them out of the med-bay. Jazz chuckled as they left the medic's domain and began heading back to quarters, it was not until they were a quarter of the way there that he suddenly realised that Prowl didn't have Bluestreak with him.

_**:://He's fine love, still deep in recharge.\\::**_ The tactician told him.

_**:://I can't believe ya left him on his own.\\:: **_The saboteur replied as he rushed through the corridors.

The Dodge Charger easily matched his steps :_**://Do you really believe me to be that careless?\\::**_ The Solstice winced at the hurt he heard in his mate's voice _**:://I asked Sideswipe to come down and watch him whilst I went to find you.\\:: **_Prowl brushed past the silver mech and carried on. Jazz vented a sigh, he really didn't mean to imply his bond-mate was careless and should have known that the tactician would suddenly fret about where he had disappeared too with everything that had transpired lately. The saboteur trudged after his spark-mate, he would have to apologise to Prowl about what he had implied. But knew deep in his spark that it was going to be a long and restless night for him regardless.

* * * * * * * * * *

The desert air was cool as a northerly breeze swept across the barren landscape, nocturnal animals scurried about the terrain but quickly scrambled for cover. A creature that appeared completely out of place, moved swiftly and silently toward the Hoover Dam complex. It's black plating allowed it to blend into the shadows as it leapt from the top of the cliff edge and hooked its claws in the sediment walls of the canyon. The singular crimson optic scanned the area below, tracking the movements of civilians on the night shift and the security patrols. Ravage scrambled down the side of the ravine to the concrete walkway, ducking back into the shadows as he waited for the patrol officer to move away from his current location. The black felinoid growled lowly in the back of his throat before swiftly leaping to the top of the generating units on the left side of the canyon basin. Ravage slunk across the top ignoring the electric tingle across his sensor net from the units he was crossing, then the felinoid's singular optic settled upon the open doorway being guarded by a couple of soldiers. The Decepticon spy knew he needed to slip past them to get inside the complex so he stepped back into the shadows and opened his jaws wide, expelling hundreds of small silver balls. Task done, the felinoid watched as each ball split open to become small microbots which were in turn then attracted to one another, within several seconds the small microbots became one barely detectable life form that closely resembled a metallic wind chime with its smooth, flat plates. Singular optics met before the smaller creature took off, understanding its instructions transmitted to it by its 'carrier', Ravage watched as the two guards at the doorway were alerted to Reedman's momentary distraction before the felinoid leapt down from the unit and slipped through the doorway.

The Decepticon spy moved swiftly and silently through the complex, ducking behind equipment and into any available shadows to keep out of the flesh bags sight. Reedman joined him not too long after he entered the lower levels, the small creature smelt of a metallic compound that the felinoid's olfactory senses analysed and told him was human blood; the human guards were without a doubt now dead. The two Decepticons continued on through the complex evading the humans easily until they reached the end of the tunnel they had been travelling down which opened up into a single large room. A few other tunnels led away from the room which contained various sections, both Ravage and Reedman made their way across to the east tunnel and slipped down it. However their way into the holding area was blocked by another pair of humans, Reedman clicked in their native tongue before he sprinted down the hallway unseen by the two humans before it was too late to call for help. The small silver Decepticon downed the two humans in a bloody fashion before hacking into the key pad that would grant them access to the room beyond which contained research and lab areas. Reedman scurried off into one of the research areas where currently holding a member of their faction not to mention a few off-line frames that had been their comrades, each of them laid out meticulously. Ravage of the other hand proceeded down the corridor, his audios perking up at the sound of a human male voice grumbling to itself in one of the labs. The Decepticon spy ran a scan of the room the human was inside of and instantly detected a faint Cybertronian signal, a low growl rumbled in the felinoid's throat as he pushed through the slightly open door. Normally it would have been sealed shut to prevent any 'experiments' from getting loose, but it seemed that another flesh bag had been careless and had provided him with an easy access.

Ravage crept behind the cabinet closest to the human, singular optic tracking him as he paced back and forth whilst speaking into a Dictaphone. The scientist finally moved out of the way entirely to reveal a small, weather worn golden cube covered in glyphs like the Allspark, however the felinoid knew the artefact had another purpose altogether. Ravage finally had enough of the long haired scientist* mumbling to himself and crept out of hiding, the human spotted him a moment later stalking his way over and dropped the small hand held device he was holding. The Decepticon spy relished in the fear the flesh creature was exhibiting as he rushed to grab a weapon, however the felinoid was quicker and pounced, the human barely had a chance to scream before he was messily disembowelled. Ravage stepped away from his kill and made his way back to the counter, the black panther like creature reached for the inactive device sat on the white surface just as the alarms sounded. Grasping the small device in his jaws, the felinoid rushed to the door blowing it open with a precise missile strike.

A couple of humans dressed in combat gear appeared from around the corner aiming their guns at Ravage, however the Decepticon spy quickly downed them in a hail of bullets before leaping over their dead bodies. The felinoid quickly joined Reedman and a newly released Sideways as they fought off the humans whilst making their way to the one area they wanted to be in within the lower recesses of the Hoover Dam. Concrete walls exploded as plasma rounds hit them whilst broken glass acting as shrapnel rained down upon any unfortunate soul who got in the way. Pained screams from the humans rang in the three Decepticons audio receptors as they took out anyone who were brave or stupid enough to follow them or get in their way. Finally the door that was labelled as restricted access came into view and Sideways quickly blew out the door controls wasting little time about worrying that it would draw the humans in that direction. A hiss sounded as the air tight seal gave way before the large heavily reinforced titanium door swung open, the three Decepticons moved into the large room where the heavily damaged but terminated frame of their leader was laid out. With the body of Megatron now located, Ravage broadcasted a signal to Soundwave through the symbiont link. After all it was now time to bring the canister of Allspark energy to the Hoover Dam and restore their true leader to functioning status.

* * * * * * * * * *

* Scientist that makes an appearance at the end of chapter 9 (for those wondering)

**A/N: **Seems like three certain Autobots are going to be butting heads shortly, and really it was only a matter of time before either Jazz or Prowl found out about Bluestreak. And I really did intend to have this done a couple of weeks ago, but real life had been a bitch lately and taking a tumble down the stairs at home didn't help matters. Anyway chapter 7 has also now been edited and added onto.

Read & review! ^_^


	17. Megatron's Rising

_I wanna thank everyone aka** Elita One, Optimus Bob, optimus prime 007, renegadewriter8, LiYaNa1995, and blind_fox on LJ** who reviewed this fic, you guys are really awesome, your reviews certainly made me smile. Also thanks to those who have added this fic to their favourites. _

_**Warnings:** Use of profanities, fluff, slight bit of violence, angst_

_**Disclaimer**: Not mine, I just toy with with them and hand them back in less than pristine condition._

_'Blah' – thoughts_

_::Blah:: - Radio Communication_

_:/blah\: - Inter. comm._

_::/Blah\\:: Bond communication_

"_Blah" - Inter-dimmensional speech_

Deep inside the Hoover dam complex, Ravage paced patiently in front of the platform his leader's off-line frame was lying upon as his host sent a transmission out to the other Decepticons, informing them that the complex and Megatron's body had been secured. The felinoid watched as Reedman scuttled about the room aimlessly before transferring his gaze to Sideways. The Audi had disabled the door commands so the humans couldn't get them open, although Sideways had them open at just a few inches so he could take pot shots at any human who was either brave or stupid enough to venture near the large hangar. Ravage snorted before continuing with his pacing, his audio receptors flickered when he heard Scalpel click to himself in their native language as he inspected the damage done to Megatron's frame. The felinoid knew Starscream and the others weren't that far away, and would respond quickly to the call. Well the Silver Raptor would take his time, after all he had proclaimed himself as their leader and was reluctant to give up that position now that he had it.

Starscream's arrival in the Hoover Dam was announced by one of the human soldiers in the corridor being vaporised whilst a few of the others were killed somewhat messily. Sideways pushed himself up onto his pedes, the Audi grabbed the doors and shoved them apart as the silver Raptor rounded the next corner. Behind him trailed the seven Constructicons and Shockwave, the latter holding the canister of Allspark energy. Starscream sneered at seeing Sideways alive and relatively intact before focusing his crimson gaze upon the deactivated form of their leader, his sneer quickly formed into a look of disgust at the thought of reactivating the Decepticon tyrant. After all they had other plans to put into motion such as acquiring the Autobot sparkling, activating the map and locating the device hidden here on Earth.

"Damage report?" He reluctantly asked as he swept his gaze over the deactivated frame, taking in the damage that had been inflicted by the humans and some of his own 'stray' shots.

"Need parts, use ze other corpses!" Scalpel shouted from where he was perched upon the battle damaged chest plates of Megatron, his hands waving in the direction of where the other deactivated frames of the Decepticons had been meticulously laid out, their frames dissected and labelled accordingly.

"Get to work." Shockwave ordered, the seven Constructicons nodded before setting to work in fixing and restoring their former leader. Whilst the seven Decepticons worked, Starscream restlessly paced back and forth, fully aware that Shockwave was tracking him with his singular optic. But he wasn't concerned about the lieutenant in the slightest as he was more focused upon how he was going to be able to put his own plans into motion, particularly now that Megatron was going to be standing in his way. The Raptor glanced across to where a few of Constructicons were working and watched as they brought pieces of the others over before they manipulated and welded them to the Decepticon tyrant's frame, whilst a couple of them others were stripping out damaged and melted parts. Starscream was glad that they repairing Megatron here and not back at the Nemesis, he knew that without a doubt they would use the collected resources he had set aside for the hatchlings inside of the maturation chambers. Which meant that the new lives he had painstakingly nurtured into existence would be terminated without a second thought, something he would not allow to happen. The silver Raptor was drawn out of his thoughts when he saw the seven Constructicons step away from the frame of their leader, allowing Scalpel to leap up from where he had been perched upon one of their shoulders and onto the metal slab.

"Now for ze Allspark energy." Scalpel uttered once he had checked over the repairs before glancing up at the Apache helicopter.

Shockwave opened up the canister and plucked the ball of Allspark energy out with clawed fingers, he tossed the canister aside before lowering the ball of Allspark energy toward Megatron's open chest plates. The little blue orb leapt out of his fingers and into the empty spark chamber, immediately the entire frame convulsed upon the metal table before the form went quiet. Starscream snarled and was about to open his mouth plates to make a comment about wasting the Allspark energy when the sound of systems powering up could be heard in the silence of the room. Silver clawed hands curled and flexed before crimson optics on-lined and un-shuttered, the Decepticons all lowered themselves to one knee, their helms dipped in subservience. Well other than Starscream, although the Raptor followed their example reluctantly a few seconds later. The newly resurrected Megatron pushed himself up from the metal slab he had been laid out upon and glanced around at his assembled troops. His crimson gaze scrutinised each and every one of them before he converted into his new flight mode and took off, leaving disgruntled subordinates in his wake. He blasted through the long tunnel and out into the open air and up into the atmosphere.

Starscream, less than pleased about the lack of gratitude from their leader, snarled angrily before taking off after the Decepticon leader. He knew exactly where he was heading and chose to follow him, after all there was no telling what kind of untold damage he might cause once he reached the Nemesis. The Raptor raced up into the atmosphere burning his thrusters to give him that extra boost to escape Earth's gravitational field, before he activated his interstellar drive and followed Megatron's ion trail. Starscream knew it would take him several hours to get there and put on an extra burst of speed, even though he knew it could severely drain his energy reserves by doing so. But right now he was more concerned about the numerous maturation sacs in one of the battleship's cargo holds, as he refused to allow vorns of painstaking work in collecting energon and creating new sparks go to waste.

The silver Raptor raced after the Decepticon leader through the dark void of space, ducking round and blasting through asteroids and other space fragments that got in his way. He continued to curse his fellow Decepticons for even suggesting that they bring back Megatron, after all his goals were going to be completely different from the ones Starscream had in mind. The Raptor knew the Decepticon leader was only focused upon one thing; reclaiming the Allspark and conquering the universe, whilst Starscream was more focused upon the preservation of their race. Although he did have the same desire to rid himself of the Autobots as they were nothing more than a proverbial thorn in his side.

Finally after what appeared to feel like an eternity, the large ringed planet that the humans had labelled as Saturn came into view, the silver Raptor soared toward one of the giant's many moons particularly the one he remembered the Nemesis crash landing upon. Starscream followed his leader in through one of the many holes that had been torn into the side of the battleship, he converted into bipedal mode before dropping to the deck plates with a solid thunk. Stood before him with his back turned to him was Megatron, it appeared at first that the Decepticon leader was simply waiting for something.

_'Or someone.'_ The Raptor thought as he flexed clawed hands, he was just about to open his mouth plates and demanded what he leader was waiting for when his predictive programming spawned a warning, although it appeared a nano-click to late as the large silver mech turned on him and slammed him none too gently against the bulkhead. Starscream snarled at him when he felt a clawed hand wrap around his throat.

"You've failed me again you miserable glitch." Megatron snarled as he leant in close to the struggling Raptor.

"No." Starscream protested through choked vocals "I m-merely returned … to c-continue what you … s-started." The Raptor managed to wedge his clawed fingertips in-between his neck and the Decepticon leader's fingers to loosen the larger mech's grip "your c-chokin' ... me."

Megatron simply growled at him before he let go, allowing Starscream to slump to the deck plates in an angry heap. A few other Decepticons shrunk back into the shadows after being alerted to a brief skirmish, intent on not drawing their leader's ire toward them. The Decepticon leader sneered at their cowering forms before making his way down the hallway of the crashed battleship, he wove through the interconnecting corridors until he reached a pair of large doors. Megatron palmed the control on the wall and a hiss of air alerted him to the air tight seal giving way, the door motors squeaked from the lack of use before they rolled back permitting the Decepticon leader access to the room beyond. He stepped inside and scanned the room with crimson optics, taking in every cracked holo screen and damaged console before his gaze fell upon the central podium.

Megatron made his way across before dropping to one knee in submission and dipping his head "Master I have returned to you." There was a hiss followed by the sound of mechanics working inside of the raised platform, the plates parted at the top permitting a large triangular object to rise up from its depths. It came to a stop once it had fully emerged and Megatron glanced up at it, his gaze falling upon the familiar insignia that his army fought under. The 'eyes' of the insignia flickered before glowing a bright crimson as the creature trapped upon the other side finally awoke from its deep slumber.

"_Have you returned with it?" _A deep rumbling voice inquired from the large metallic tablet.

The Decepticon leader bowed his head "No master, the Allspark was destroyed and along with it, our hopes of creating a new army as well."

"_It has not been completely destroyed, a single shard remained and although its powers have diminished, they will soon be restored." _The creature told him, Megatron glanced at the tablet curiously.

"You know of this?" The large silver mech inquired, a single optic ridge raised.

"_I sensed it the moment the infant was born."_ Was the response.

Megatron frowned at that "Infant?" The Decepticon leader's gaze was diverted from the tablet to the doorway when he heard footsteps, a snarl appeared upon his facial plates when Starscream stepped into the room and also knelt before the platform, his head bowed. So the incompetent slagger had neglected to alert him to the existence of a sparkling that was without a doubt Autobot in origin? It was likely that the Raptor wanted to keep that information from him to use for his own ends like the backstabbing fragger that he was. Although he did have other loyal lieutenants who could have informed him about the recent changes that had occurred on that miserable little planet better known as Earth.

"_One of those accursed Autobots sparked a new life, a sparkling which absorbed the Allspark shard." _The ancient being told him _"whether it has been imbued with its powers is another matter."_

"Then wouldn't it be prudent to acquire it now?" Starscream inquired as he scowled at his leader who growled deep in his throat and glared at him.

A dark chuckled sounded from the tablet _"We must have patience, we will strike that miserable wretched planet when the infant's powers if he has any at all begin to show."_

"And if he doesn't oh great one?" The Raptor asked.

"_Then we shall proceed to phase two and locate the sun harvester and create a new cube." _The creature told them _"in the mean time continue with your efforts in gathering what energy you can, I want that army ready the moment I am free from this wretched prison my traitorous brothers sealed me inside of."_

"Yes master." Megatron replied although Starscream could tell there was an air of reluctance in the Decepticon leader's tone at addressing his 'master' in front of one of his sub-ordinates. The Raptor sneered at that, as much as the self proclaimed leader of the Decepticons believed he was simply in control, he like the others was just a tool to be used and then discarded once he no longer had a use.

The large silver mech pushed himself up onto his pedes, a look of disgust appearing upon his facial plates "Starscream since you have served me loyally so far, gather a team and begin plundering Earth's resources."

Starscream pushed himself up onto his pedes before giving a sarcastic bow "Yes master." He turned to leave when he heard Megatron speak up.

"Do not fail me this time." The silver Raptor snarled and clenched his clawed hands into fists before stalking out of the room. For now he would follow orders, but it an opportunity presented itself in taking Megatron out once again, he was going to take it with or without the aid of his comrades.

**Earth – Diego Garcia base …. **

Jazz groaned as he on-lined, there wasn't a single part of him that didn't hurt or at least ache in some way or another. Although his injuries had been superficial in regards to what had happened to some of the others during a skirmish in Russia. The NEST satellites had detected the Decepticon signals up in Russia a week ago and they had mobilised to neutralise the threat, however whatever the 'cons had been after they intended to keep as they viciously attacked them until the Autobots had no choice but to retreat. Barricade had been interrogated for answers as to what his former comrades were up too, but the shock trooper simply told them that the Decepticons were no doubt harvesting energy for a purpose he hadn't been made privy too. A fact that didn't sit well with many Autobots as they all knew it wouldn't bode well for them when it came to whatever Starscream and his cronies were planning. The skirmish in Russia wasn't an isolated incident either, the Decepticons had struck several sites around the world keeping the Autobot and NEST forces stretched to their limits.

The saboteur pushed himself up into a sitting position before stretching to undo the kinks in his back and joints before his gaze wandered to the empty side of the berth. As per usual Prowl was up and about before him which came to no surprise to him, the silver mech pushed himself onto his pedes and made his way out of his room and into the main living space. Instantly his audios detected the happy warbles, clicks and trills of his sparkling, he glanced toward the centre of the room where he saw his bonded sat upon the floor with six month old Bluestreak. A large grin appeared upon his lip components as he watched his mate play with their child, although he couldn't help but feel a little bit miffed at not being woken up sooner.

It seemed his spark-mate detected his disappointment as the tactician shot him a sideways glance "I didn't want to wake you love." The Solstice shook his helm as he made his way over and sat down beside his bonded, Bluestreak squealed at seeing his spark carrier and bounced on his little aft, only to wobble and prompt Prowl to steady him with a hand to his back. The little one had learned to sit on his own a while ago, but every now and again when he got too excited he tended to lose his balance and fall backwards, unless of course one of his parents were within reach and were able to steady him. Under normal circumstance the sparkling should have been crawling by now, but since Bluestreak's spark had never been implanted into a more stable protoform since he already had one of his own at birth, his development was taking slightly longer than normal. Jazz leaned into his mate's side and hummed in contentment as he simply relished in the close contact of his bond-mate as he watched Bluestreak happily chirp, click and coo at everything his father did to amuse him, however the saboteur could tell that something was bugging his mate and probed along their link to find out what it was.

"Prowl?" The Solstice inquired with a concerned look upon his facial plates as he sat up fully.

Prowl vented a heavy sigh from his intakes, although he didn't meet his bonded's gaze "A decision has been reached about Barricade."

Jazz felt his fuel pump quicken in his chest at the mention of the shock trooper and a wave of anxiety settled in his frame "What's ta become of him?"

"Optimus has decided to release him from his cell under protective guard." The tactician replied "so far the information he's provided has been invaluable, but to let him out of his cell simply on good behaviour is not a wise decision in the slightest, regardless of whether he has claimed neutrality or not."

"Have ya spoken ta Optimus about this?" The saboteur inquired, worry and concern laced in the tone of his voice. He couldn't quite understand why their leader would make such a bold move in allowing the shock trooper out of his cell even if it was simply on 'good behaviour', but their Prime had always been a good judge of character and had never been wrong about a mech or femme except for once. He knew both Ratchet and Ironhide were likely to give their leader a thorough chewing out about his decision regarding Barricade's release, and possibly an impromptu processor scan courtesy of the CMO. But even the Solstice had noticed there was something very different about the Mustang and he knew it had to do with Bluestreak, he had never seen the shock trooper display such open emotion like he had done the night he had snuck down to Barricade's cell to get answers of his own. He had seen the protective want the other black and white had displayed which had prompted the Mustang to create a 'blood' oath with the silver mech so he could fulfil this 'alien' need to protect the sparkling from harm. Jazz knew he had yet to tell his bond-mate about that and had considered telling him, but knew if he did it was likely to create an all out argument about trust and decided that now simply wasn't the time.

"I did yes but he was convinced that we may be able to get Barricade to defect to our faction completely." The Dodge Charger replied with a frown "I'm sceptical on that assumption, my brother is selfish, arrogant and will do anything to fulfil his own goals even if it means taking out anyone who stands in his way, he's only here for one reason."

Jazz pushed himself up onto his pedes "Well ya just proved there might be a chance for 'Cade, ya just called him ya brother, somethin' ya haven't done in a while." The saboteur plucked the little grey mechlet up from the floor who happily voiced his protest, although it was muffled by a stuffed toy's head he had shoved into his mouth "I'm gonna give Blue a bath, could ya …."

"I'll have his energon ready once you're done." The black and white mech told him as he pushed himself up from the floor and stretched before he went about tidying up the assortment of toys scattered across the floor. The Solstice made his way over to the wash rack where he turned on the taps and waited for the water to rise several inches before turning them off, he checked the water temperature then quickly made his way over to the basket on one of the shelves. An assortment of toys were stacked inside, he grabbed a handful and tossing them into the bath whilst he still had an armful of wriggling sparkling. The silver mech then made his way back to the tub and gently deposited Bluestreak in the water, he waited for the infant to settle first before he reached over for the cleaning solution and small soft bristled brush and cloth. Jazz applied a small amount of cleaning solution to the soft bristled brush first and began cleaning in-between the little one's joints and under derma-plating, a task he always completed before he set about washing down Bluestreak's plating.

A small chuckle escaped his vocaliser at his sparkling's enthusiasm as the little one played with some of his toys, one of which he was promptly trying to drown only to have it bob back up to the surface. But Jazz's amusement at his infant's antics suddenly disappeared and a frown furrowed his optic ridges when he noticed a singular Cybertronian glyph upon the back of Bluestreak's neck, however it wasn't the only one as he glanced down the sparkling's spinal struts. There was a pattern of them leading all the way down to the small of his back. His frown only deepened when he also saw a line of glyphs leading away from the infant's right elbow, curving over his forearm until it came to rest on the inside of his wrist, a glance at the other arm showed the same pattern. Surely Prowl should have seen them? Or had his mate simply neglected to tell him about them? Either way they were quite prominent upon the little one's plating, the saboteur mused as he lightly traced the ones trailing down Bluestreak's back only to flinch away when there was a burning sensation upon his left helm horn. The searing pain disappeared quickly as it came leaving the Solstice some what baffled by what had just happened, although he was drawn quickly out of his musings when his sparkling gave a concerned warble.

"I'm alright Blue." Jazz told his offspring as he went back to cleaning the infant, he would have to speak to Ratchet later about the markings and if he didn't have any answers, he would have to speak with Skyfire since the old Veritech might know a thing or two about what was going on "c'mon let's get ya outta there before ya father begins ta wonder what I've done wit' ya." The sparkling clicked and cooed at his carrier as Jazz plucked him out of the water and settled him against his chassis before quickly making his way to where the towels were stacked, he grabbed one off the pile and tucked it round the infant's frame. He made his way back to the tub and pulled out the plug before he made his way out of the wash rack and toward the little one's room, the saboteur frowned when he noticed the apparent lack of his mate's presence in their quarters and briefly wondered where he had gotten too. That was until he entered Bluestreak's room to find Prowl waiting for him there, he handed the noisily clicking and chirping sparkling over to his mate. After all the infant liked interacting with both parents during his daily rituals rather than just the one of them.

"Have ya noticed anythin' different about Blue this mornin'?" The Solstice asked as he followed his mate across the room.

The tactician glanced at him curiously "How so?"

"He has markin's down his back and along his forearms, they're quite prominent." Jazz replied. The Dodge Charger frowned at that, he honestly could say that no he hadn't noticed them as he laid Bluestreak down upon the soft padding of the berth. The black and white mech ignored the noises of disapproval from his offspring as he checked the little one's forearms, taking in the old Cybertronian glyphs engraved into the grey derma-plating before checking the ones on the sparkling's back "see what I mean?"

"I do." Prowl said as he began drying Bluestreak's plating, although it was becoming quite the chore since the sparkling refused to stop squirming or vigorously kicking his legs or flailing his arms. The little grey infant was even twittering at him as he attempted to sit up so he could give his trapped sensory panels the freedom to flutter and twitch "I'm sure they weren't there last night."

"That's because they weren't." The saboteur replied as he grabbed one of Bluestreak's favourite toys out of the basket upon the set of drawers, he presented it to the sparkling in order to keep him occupied so the tactician could finish drying him without further delay. The infant happily accepted the toy and began clicking and warbling at it, until he promptly stuffed its head in his mouth and began 'gumming' it, a clear sign he was becoming hungry "what'd you do wit' his breakfast?"

"On the side table." The Dodge Charger told him as he lifted Bluestreak up into his arms before he sat down upon the berth, he sat the sparkling upon his left thigh with one arm behind his back for support before taking the offered bottle from his mate. The little grey infant pulled the toy's head from his mouth and dropped the stuffed animal as he began keening hungrily for his substanence.

"Little mech certainly knows what he wants." The Solstice chuckled as he watched the infant greedily consume the glowing pink liquid once the flexible plastic piece was in his mouth.

"Hmm he certainly does, just like his carrier." Prowl replied as he gave his mate a sideways glance only to look at him fully when he noticed something strange about his mate's left helm horn; one of the glyphs was currently glowing a bright blue. He frowned at that, he had never seen any of Jazz's glyphs glow before, except after they had been lasered on and that was only because the metal had been super heated during engraving. He was about to alert his mate to the strange phenomena when Bluestreak demanded his attention, he glanced down and noticed that the sparkling had quickly guzzled down his bottle and was demanding for a second, a very rare occurrence for the little grey mechlet.

"That's a first, I'll be back in a nano-click." Jazz said before quickly disappearing from the room, leaving the tactician with their noisy creation who was voicing his distress at being kept waiting for his second bottle.

The Dodge Charger attempted to distract him by bouncing him on his leg or trying to get his attention with the toy he had dropped earlier, it worked for a few seconds before the infant began whimpering unhappily again "Your carrier will be back in a moment Blue, I promise you." Bluestreak began twittering at him unhappily and his little stubby sensory panels drooped whilst the little one's bottom lip component bowed. Prowl pushed himself up and began gently bouncing the unhappy sparkling and was finally relieved to see his mate stepping back into the room with a fresh bottle of energon. The saboteur handed the bottle over to his bonded who shifted the infant into a better position on his arms before presenting the new bottle to Bluestreak, the sparkling readily latched onto the plastic tip and began greedily guzzling down the second bottle, surprising both of his parents.

"Okay I'm gonna have ta pack a second an' tell 'Bee that he might want another bottle." The Solstice said, still slightly baffled that his offspring had demanded another bottle, another thing he would have to approach Ratchet about.

The tactician watched as his bonded plucked the sparkling's carry round bag from where it had been folded and placed upon the large chest. It had been a gift from Sam's parents since Judy insisted that all parents should have one to carry around the essentials. Prowl had been tempted to inform her that they had sub-space pockets to keep such items in, but Jazz had simply silenced him with a single look. The Dodge Charger knew he still had to tell his spark-mate about what he knew in regards to Bluestreak and his unique 'condition', however he just simply couldn't find it in himself to tell Jazz what he knew even though the saboteur had a right to know. The black and white mech wasn't sure how his bonded would react when he discovered that Bluestreak wasn't at all normal, he knew there was every chance that the saboteur would be angry particularly about being kept in the dark, a fact his logic circuits unhelpfully pointed to him.

However right now he simply pushed it to the back of his processor as the sparkling in his arms was demanding his attention, he glanced down and smiled to see Bluestreak happily chirping and clicking away, his diminutive hand keeping a precarious hold upon the flexible plastic piece at the top of the bottle. Prowl moved the infant so he was resting with his back against his chassis, making sure he had a firm hold upon the sparkling since Bluestreak had a knack for wriggling, not too mention the little grey mechlet liked to be able to observe everything and he couldn't do that when facing inwards. The sparkling began swinging his legs and tried to bounce upon the hip he was perched upon earning him a small chuckle from his father, the tactician began bouncing lightly upon his pedes earning him a fit of giggles from the infant.

"Don't bounce 'im too much, don't want a repeat of last time." Jazz told him with a grin upon his facial plates as he watched his mate bounce upon his pedes around the room, Bluestreak squealed and clapped his hands together whilst little stubby sensory panels fluttered upon his back.

"I know." The Dodge Charger chuckled as he swept the sparkling up, turning him round to face him and drawing him in to nuzzle his nose with his own. Diminutive hands immediately tried to latch upon the glistening red plating of the black and white mech's chevron, but Prowl pulled him away before he could.

"I did try ta warn Sideswipe about bouncin' 'im after he's had somethin' ta eat." The saboteur said as he moved to stand beside his spark-mate.

"Since when has that two bit glitch ever listened to anyone." The tactician replied as he settled Bluestreak back on his hip.

"Ya have ta admit it was pretty funny, an' Blue wouldn't stop laughin' at him." The Solstice could recall the exact moment when the sparkling had made a distressed whimper before purging on the red Lamborghini. Sideswipe had nearly dropped him in his shock but lucky enough he hadn't, least he wanted to incur the ire of one of the infant's parents. Bluestreak had found it hilarious especially with all the facial gestures he made, and nearly purged a second time from laughing too much before the silver mech plucked him out of the front-liner's hold.

"It was until I had to deal with the fallout." Prowl told him as he handed the sparkling over to his mate when the infant began making grabbing motions toward his carrier.

Jazz took the sparkling from his lover and settled him against his chassis "Well I betta get ya down ta uncle 'Bee or he's gonna start wonderin' where ya are, anyway say bye, bye ta ya father." Prowl chuckled as Bluestreak glanced at him and squealed before continuing with his clicking and chirping, showing that he had no intention in saying goodbye to his sire in the slightest "well I'll see you later love." The tactician couldn't help but smile as he shared a quick chaste kiss with his mate before the saboteur made his way out of their quarters.

The sparkling continued his clicking and chirping as his carrier carried him down to the recreation room, although every now and again whistles and warbles also escaped the little one's vocaliser as he swung his legs back and forth. Jazz chuckled as he watched his creation greet every human they passed with loud vocalisations, many of the men and women smiled and waved back at the enthusiastic sparkling whilst others waved and greeted the saboteur and Bluestreak with 'hellos' and 'good mornings'. Finally the Solstice reached the rec. room and palmed the pad on the wall, he stepped into the room when the doors whooshed open and immediately his gaze settled upon the back of Bumblebee. The scout was sat on the arm of the Autobot sized couch watching the screen where a racing tournament was taking place, he could hear Sam and Mikaela taunting one another from where they were sat upon the large couch.

The yellow Camaro turned at the sound of a noisy clicking sparkling and smiled "Someone sounds happy today."

"He certainly does." Jazz replied with a smile of his own "hey Sam, Mikaela."

"Hey Jazz." The Witwicky boy called from the couch. Bumblebee shook his head in amusement before sliding off the arm and making his way over, immediately Bluestreak focused his attention upon the scout and began clicking and cooing at him whilst making grabbing motions. The Camaro couldn't help but look surprised at that as the sparkling had never reached for him before, the saboteur chuckled as he held the infant out for Bumblebee to take.

"'Bee." The Solstice called drawing the scout out of his surprised state, the Camaro grinned sheepishly before he took Bluestreak from his carrier. The sparkling squealed and began his clicks and chirps anew as Bumblebee set him awkwardly upon his left hip like he had seen Jazz and Prowl carry him "just watch how ya hold 'im, he's got no compunction about what or where he kicks." Once Jazz was sure the scout had a firm hold of his creation, he handed the Camaro the infant's carry round bag "gonna warn ya before hand, little mechlet's takin' two bottles today instead of one just ta let ya know if he starts demandin' fer a second."

"Got it." Bumblebee replied, he glanced down when he felt Bluestreak trying to grip his thumb with diminutive hands as it was pressed gently against the top of little one's right thigh, he then grimaced slightly as he felt the sparkling beginning to bend the digit backwards.

The saboteur chuckled "Ah suggest ya get 'im sat down somewhere 'fore he breaks ya thumb, its becomin' a habit of his when he's tryin' ta tell ya ta put 'im down."

The scout moved round to the front of the couch, ignoring how both of his human charges swayed to the side to glance around him when he passed in front of them, before he set the little grey infant in the corner of the couch.

The Solstice quickly made his way over and glanced over the top before reached down and smoothed a clawed hand over his sparkling's helm "See ya later lil Blue." Bluestreak paid his carrier no heed as his gaze was primarily on the two humans who were elbowing each other playfully in the sides in order to distract one another. The silver mech shook his head in amusement as he pulled himself up right and glanced at the scout "have fun."

"He's in good hands Jazz." Bumblebee told his superior.

"Ah know he is." The saboteur replied as he glanced down at his son one last time before turning and leaving the recreation room.

The scout watched the Solstice leave before popping open the carry round bag "Let's see what your carrier packed for you." He rummaged around the bag and pulled out several toys, he placed a couple upon the couch in front of the infant before he knelt down and shook the rattle like toy. The musical tones immediately had Bluestreak's attention and he quickly snatched it from the Camaro, Bumblebee chuckled as he relinquished the toy to the sparkling since he knew how possessive Bluestreak was when it came to the rattle like toy. The sparkling bashed the rattle against the padded cushions, squealing happily at the different melodies being produced before his gaze snapped round to focus upon the scout's door wings as they fluttered upon his back. The Camaro noticed the infant's curious gaze and the warbles leaving his vocaliser and glanced in the direction the little grey mechlet was looking in, although he was suddenly taken by surprise when the sparkling tried to mimic his door wings with his own small stubby ones.

Bumblebee chuckled at the look of concentration upon the infant's facial plates and twitched his door wings upwards and out, watching as Bluestreak mimicked the movements with his sensory panels. The scout had seen Prowl perform similar exercises with his own back appendages when he had his creation, he discovered that it was good exercise for the sparkling as it tested his co-ordination skills, and strengthened the joints, and from what the Camaro could see they were pretty good. He twitched his wings back and forth, leaving a couple of minutes between movements so the infant could copy him until Bluestreak's attention became focused upon something else entirely. The sparkling jumped when Sam sneezed before giggles emitted from the little grey mechlet's vocaliser, Bumblebee rose a single optic ridge at his as he had never seen the infant laughing at anyone sneezing before.

"Did he just …." The Witwicky boy began as he glanced away from the screen to look at Bluestreak who clicked and chirped at him.

"Laugh at you? Yea he did." Bumblebee told his charge.

"Sam do it again." Mikaela said as she glanced around her boyfriend to see that the sparkling's attention was fully focused upon Sam.

"But I don't need to … oh." The Witwicky boy began to reply until Mikaela gave him a look, he gave the infant a sideways glance before looking up at the screen for a brief few seconds. Then he turned and gave a fake sneeze, immediately Bluestreak erupted into giggles and had to be steadied when he nearly fell over backwards from laughing.

Mikaela reined in her own laughter a few moments later "Don't make him laugh too much or he's gonna be sick."

"Yea Sam I don't wanna be purged on." The scout chuckled as he moved his hand from the small of the sparkling's back once he was sure the infant was going to fall over backwards.

"Who'd thought a baby would find a simple gesture funny." Sam said with a smile upon his lips.

"Maybe its just you he finds amusing."Mikaela said, Sam pouted at her and she playfully swatted his arm "anyway now you've amused Blue, you owe me a rematch."

"Yea, yea." He grumbled "sore loser." That earned him another playful swot from Mikaela before both humans turned their attention to the screen as another game loaded up.

Whilst both of his charges were preoccupied with the game upon the screen and playfully taunting each other, Bumblebee turned his attention to the sparkling who was happily 'gumming' the head of the toy he had stuffed in his mouth whilst he clicked and cooed to another toy he held in his other hand. The scout sat upon the floor making sure his door wings were out of the reach of one sparkling before glancing up at the television screen. He checked on the infant periodically especially when he would suddenly fall quiet, in fact he had just turned away from checking on Bluestreak when the sparkling gave a curious whirl, he turned to glance over his shoulder in time to see the infant reach and grab Sam's discarded cell phone. Bumblebee wasn't quick enough to grab the object from the little grey mechlet and watched in horror as Bluestreak began examining it, he knew that if the sparkling got too curious about the phone, it was likely to end up in his mouth and become a choking hazard.

"Uh Sam." The Camaro called, his human charge gave him a sideways glance before he dropped the controller quickly once he realised why his guardian had called him.

"Ah, ah Blue can I have that?" Sam asked as he got up and approached the sparkling, Bluestreak simply ignored him and shook the cell phone he had procured "Blue." He knew he had to tread carefully as he was well aware that the little grey infant could easily grab him or actually throw the phone at him "come on Blue I need that back." The sparkling's baby blue optics focused upon him before he warbled questioningly at Sam, the Witwicky boy picked the rattle off the couch and shook it hoping it would convince the infant to drop his cell phone and take the toy instead. Bluestreak simply blinked at Sam, his little sensory panels waving back and forth before a couple of runes upon his forearms flared to life, Sam barely had time to gasp in both shock and surprise before the sparkling reached forward and grabbed the rattle from him.

However in those few seconds of coming into contact with one another, although not directly, an electrical discharge swept through Sam's body knocking him off his feet and sending him tumbling backwards upon the couch. Bluestreak screamed and immediately dropped both objects, Bumblebee couldn't help but watch in both fascination and concern as the mobile phone trembled before it converted into a bipedal mode and scurried off the couch. However he was drawn out of his haze when he heard Mikaela calling Sam's name and Bluestreak began wailing, the scout tentatively touched the sparkling not wanting to get zapped in the same way as Sam, but was relieved when all he felt was a faint tickle over his sensor net. He scooped the sobbing infant into his arms as he accessed his comm. link and immediately called Ratchet to bring a human medical team to the recreation room.

"Mikaela is he okay?" Bumblebee asked, worry lacing the tone of his voice.

"I … I don't know, I can feel a pulse but its faint." She replied as she glanced up at the scout briefly, concern clearly written upon her face "what about Blue?"

"He's okay just a little shocked I think." The scout told her as he inspected the infant for any kind of injury. He was mildly surprised that Bluestreak's parents weren't on the comm. link asking if their sparkling was alright, after all they should have been able to detect the sudden change in their creation. The Camaro continued to try and coo to Bluestreak to calm him and was becoming increasingly concerned as the infant was becoming listless in his arms, he was about to access his comm. link and demand what was taking Ratchet so long when the CMO burst through the door with a human medical team not far behind him.

"Bumblebee sit. rep." The medic demanded as he made his way over.

"Sam got zapped by some sort of electrical discharge from Bluestreak." The scout replied as he willingly handed the increasingly listless sparkling over to Ratchet, the Hummer set him down upon the couch and began running scans. The Camaro turned his worried gaze to where the human medics were working on his charge.

"What kind of electrical discharge?" The CMO inquired with a frown upon his facial plates "fraggit his energy levels are incredibly low, I'm going to have to …."

_::Prime to Ratchet.:: _

_::Ratchet here, what ever it is its gonna have to wait I've currently got a medical situation on my hands.:: _The medic responded as he scooped the listless sparkling up into his arms and cradled him close to his chassis.

_::As do we, I've got Jazz unconscious up here and Prowl appears to be hurt.::_ Optimus told him, concern could be clearly heard in the tone of his voice.

_::Just what the frag is going on?::_ The Hummer inquired of no-one in particular _::I'll send Wheeljack up.::_

_::Understood.::_

Ratchet closed one comm. link before opening another _::Ratchet to Wheeljack.::_

_::Wheeljack here.:: _Came the response.

_::I need you to drop whatever you're doing and head to the command centre, there's a medical situation and I need you to go and check it out.::_ The CMO told the engineer _::I'd do it but I've currently got an infant bordering on stasis lock to deal with.::_

_::Got it.::_The Lancia replied before he terminated the comm. link. Ratchet wasted no time and strode out of the recreation room and quickly made his way down to the repair bay, along the way he kept his sensors firmly upon Bluestreak making sure that the sparkling's energy levels didn't drop any lower than they already were. The CMO couldn't quite make heads or tails of the situation that had just occurred, but a feeling that was just beginning to settle in his fuel tanks told him he knew exactly what was going on. After all both he and Optimus suspected it since day five when he presented the scans of Bluestreak to the Autobot leader, and they had been waiting since then for the first signs to begin showing. The medic knew Prowl would have an inkling of what was going on, but Jazz didn't know a thing about his sparkling's 'condition', and the Hummer wasn't looking forward to the moment when they had to tell him about everything they knew.

**Nemesis ….**

It was unmistakable, in all the millions of vorns it still remembered the distinct energy pulse of the Allspark, the creature stirred within its sarcophagus and glanced out of the portal and into the real world. Immediately its gaze fixated upon the large silver frame of its disciple as he strode through the doors, alerted to his master's awakening.

"_The sign we have been waiting for has finally arrived, gather our forces and take back what was rightfully mine."_ The creature ordered from within the confines of the tablet.

Megatron knelt before the stone tablet and bowed his head "Yes Master." The Decepticon leader stood and swiftly strode out of the room, calling for his soldiers to gather outside of the ship before they began their assault on Earth.

The creature smiled to itself, it wouldn't be long now before he was free and able to take back what belonged to him; namely the power his brothers had denied him all those vorns ago. Well this time there was only one Prime standing in his way and he would deal with him once he was free of his prison.

**Back on Earth ….**

After closing the comm. link with Ratchet, Wheeljack terminated the experiment he had been conducting before rushing over to where he kept a field kit and making his way out of the room. The engineer quickly made his way through the interconnecting corridors, carefully avoiding stepping on any humans in his wake before he finally reached the control room. He was somewhat confused by what was going on after Ratchet informed him that he had a sparkling bordering on the verge of stasis lock, he couldn't understand what could have happened for Bluestreak to end up in such a state in the first place. The Lancia entered the control room and immediately spotted Prowl slumped against the central console, blue optics dim and door wings sagging upon his back. He quickly made his way over to the tactician removing a scanner from the med-kit as he did so.

"What happened?" He inquired as he scanned the Dodge Charger.

"Not .. sure." The black and white responded "see to .. Jazz first, I'm fine just … a little tired."

The engineer reluctantly left his side and proceeded across to where Optimus was hovering over an unconscious Jazz, he knelt down beside the saboteur, scanner already taking readings. Wheeljack frowned when he noticed something glowing upon the Solstice's helm and reached to turn the silver mech's head to the side, a soft gasp of surprise left his vocaliser at the sight of one of the glyphs glowing a vivid blue. He glanced at his leader to see an equally surprised if not concerned look upon his facial plates.

"What's their prognosis?" Optimus asked.

"Both of their energy levels have been drained, by what? I have no idea." The engineer replied "gonna need to get the pair of them down to the repair bay."

The Prime nodded before he moved to scoop the unconscious Jazz off the floor, Wheeljack quickly sub-spaced the scanner and med-kit before making his way over to Prowl and helping the tactician to his pedes. The engineer slung one of the Dodge Charger's arms across his shoulders and began leading the black and white out of the control room, following closely behind them was Optimus with Jazz in his arms. The trek was considerably slow there as Prowl barely had the strength to carry most of his own weight and relied heavily upon the Lancia to keep him upright, but they finally arrived at the repair bay. Ratchet met them at the doors where he slung the tactician's other arm across his shoulders and the pair of them led him across to one of the berths, the CMO was none too gentle as he shoved the Dodge Charger up onto the berth before he stepped away instructing the semi Peter-built to lay Jazz on one of the others.

The large red and blue mech watched as both Ratchet and Wheeljack rushed to get his second and third in commands stabilised before his gaze fell upon one of the other berths. He felt his spark clench in its casing when he saw a bundle of thermal blankets inside of a makeshift crib, he made his way over and peered inside to see Bluestreak bundled in the thermal blankets. The little one seemingly deep in recharge.

Optimus glanced up when he heard footsteps approach "Just what the hell is going on Ratchet?"

"I'm not sure, but I'm getting some anomalous readings from Bluestreak, and I have no idea what's causing them." The CMO replied as he checked over the sparkling's vitals "Bumblebee would be better at answering any questions you might have."

The Prime glanced across the room to where the scout was currently sat upon the floor outside of the section that housed the humans medical wing, the semi Peter-built turned to his CMO "Keep me appraised to their conditions." The Hummer nodded before heading back to his patients. Optimus made his way over to where the Camaro was sat, he knelt down beside the young scout "Bumblebee what happened?"

The Camaro glanced up at his leader, a worried look upon his facial plates "I don't know sir, everything seemed normal until Bluestreak zapped Sam with some sort of electrical discharge."

The Prime frowned at him "Zapped him?"

"Yea lil Blue grabbed his cell phone before I could stop him and when Sam went to take it off him, there was this bright flash. Next thing I knew Bluestreak was crying and Sam was unconscious." Bumblebee replied "but sir I'm sure .. for just a split second .. that I sensed Allspark energy."

The semi Peter-built's frown deepened at that. Could it be possible that the sparkling's abilities were just beginning to awaken? If that were true then it wouldn't be long before the others found out about the infant's unique condition including his spark carrier. Optimus choose to ignore those thoughts for now as he placed a hand upon one of the scout's shoulders "It wasn't your fault."

"I know sir I just ..." The Camaro began before he was suddenly interrupted by the alert klaxon going off.

_::Long range sensors have detected numerous Decepticon signals heading our way.::_Came Red Alert's voice over the intercom.

"What the?" Bumblebee asked as he stood up and glanced at his leader who also shared his concerned expression.

Optimus pushed himself up to powering height before striding across the room "Ratchet I need Prowl and Jazz up on their feet as soon as you can." Ratchet was about to open his mouth plates ready to protest, but shut them and simply nodded as both the Prime and scout left the med-bay _::Red Alert how many Decepticons are we talking?::_

_::Ten sir.::_ The security director responded. The semi Peter-built cursed lightly under his breath before he accessed his comm. link, calling all available Autobots out to meet the Decepticons head on, a radio transmission from Major Lennox informed the Autobot leader that the humans were also mobilising. Optimus raced through the interconnecting corridors, Bumblebee close behind him, until he reached the entrance. He could see the humans scrambling for cover whilst others fanned out and took up firing positions. The Prime's gaze immediately fixated upon the skies above the base as a fighter jet roared overhead, normally this was a common sight at the Diego Garcia base as numerous jets refuelled here, but the distinct Cybertronian signal emanating from the Raptor clearly told him it was hardly friendly. The semi Peter-built vaguely heard Trailbreaker instructing the others in regards to what offensive and defensive positions to take up, however his gaze was firmly fixed upon the somewhat familiar form of the silver alien jet that soared overhead. A part of him didn't want to believe what he was seeing, but a cold dread that was slowly gripping his spark was telling him what he already knew; that his brother was back. How? Was another question better saved for another time as he had no choice but to throw himself into a sideways roll to avoid the weapons fire.

Optimus rolled onto his pedes drawing out his photon rifle, his azure gaze completely fixated upon the alien jet as it did a strafing run before banking round. Several shots pinged off the heavy armour as Megatron flew overhead until he converted into bipedal mode and dropped heavily upon the tarmac, his crimson optics focusing upon the blue and red frame of the Autobot leader.

The Prime dropped into a defensive stance and faced the Decepticon tyrant head on "What do you Megatron?"

The Decepticon leader smiled cruelly "I'm here for the Allspark."

_**A/N: **Ooh look cliffhanger *runs away* lol.I changed a bit when it came to the Fallen, I'm using the concept that he was banished to another dimension like in the Prequel Defiance, and don't worry I won't kill off Optimus just to free the bugger nor will I be venturing too near ROTF. _


	18. Attack on Diego Garcia

_I wanna thank everyone aka** Optimus Bob, optimus prime 007, renegadewriter8, bumblebee's girl, Elita one, Shizuka Taiyou, girl1213** who reviewed this fic, you are all awesome, your reviews certainly made me smile :) But anyway here is the next chapter, and don't worry what's going on with Prowl, Jazz & Blue will be explained in the next chapter! Plenty of action up ahead and I'm going to have to raise the rating now with the contents involved!_

_**Warnings:** Use of profanities, slight bit of fluff, lots of violence and angst_

_**Disclaimer**: Not mine, I just toy with with them and hand them back in less than pristine condition._

_'Blah' – thoughts_

_::Blah:: - Radio Communication_

_:/blah\: - Inter. comm._

_::/Blah\\:: Bond communication_

"_Blah" - Inter-dimmensional speech_

The Prime dropped into a defensive stance as he faced the Decepticon tyrant head on "What do you want Megatron?"

The Decepticon leader smiled cruelly "I'm here for the Allspark."

"Then you've wasted your time Megatron because the Allspark was destroyed." The semi Peter-built said, his entire frame was coiled tightly ready to defend himself should the need arise. Which was likely to happen as he knew the Decepticon leader was determined to kill him and wipe out his faction, and now to reclaim the Allspark that had been reborn in a form of a sparkling. Although Ratchet had yet to determine whether he had inherited any of its powers, but he suspected something was going on; after all whatever had happened in the recreation room had been enough to take down both Jazz and Prowl. Jazz, the saboteur still didn't know anything about his son's condition, and Optimus really hoped that he wouldn't find out through a Decepticon. But right now his attention was required up front and centre when he heard Megatron's fusion cannon power up, the Prime barely had enough time to throw himself into an awkward sideways roll when the large silver mech opened fire. Optimus rolled back up onto his feet and opened fire in return, the plasma round grazed Megatron's left shoulder prompting a snarl to emit from the Decepticon leader's vocaliser as he charged straight at the semi Peter-built. The clash of the two leaders meeting head on, produced a trembling in the ground and a loud clang and squeal of metal meeting metal to echo through the air. The Prime dug his peds into the tarmac and concrete, fighting to keep his footing as he tussled with the large silver mech.

Optimus managed to tear his left arm free a few seconds later and just in time as Megatron converted his right arm into a dangerous looking claw like sword, he ducked out of the way when the Decepticon leader swiped the air where his head had been a few moments prior with the weapon. The semi Peter-built ducked and dodged the sword whilst making sure he didn't step on any of the humans or put himself in the line of fire, although with his attention diverted as it was, it allowed Megatron to score a hit. Optimus hissed in pain when the jagged edge of the sword bit through the armour upon his upper right arm, he quickly inspected the wound before flicking his own blades out and retaliating. Around him he could hear his fellow Autobots and the human NEST soldiers engage the other Decepticons in combat through a series of explosions, cries of pain and defiance, cussing in both human and Cybertronian from both sides and weapons discharging.

The Prime dodged a fist aimed for his facial plates and knocked aside Megatron's right arm just as he converting it into his fusion cannon again, the Decepticon leader's arm was swung open wide by the blow which exposed an advantage that the semi Peter-built took quickly. Optimus performed a round house kick that sent the large silver mech staggering backwards before he opened fire with his photon rifle, the plasma round hit Megatron square in the chest plates, knocking him over backwards and leaving him momentarily dazed. The Prime took the brief few seconds of reprieve to glance across the battlefield that had engulfed Diego Garcia's air strip, he watched as Inferno ducked out of the way as Grindor used his rotor assembly to swipe the area the head of search and rescue had been a couple of seconds prior. Whilst Inferno distracted the large heavy hitter, Hound loaded a few rounds into his exposed back plates before rolling out of the way when the dangerously spinning propellers were aimed in his direction.

From the corner of his optics he could just make out Sideswipe leaping from one of the Raptors, the red front-liner instantly grabbing hold of Thundercracker's wings and manipulating the jet to bank round sharply. He shook his head in amusement as he brought up one of his swords to protect himself from a round fired at him by Starscream, the twins always found the opportunity to perform 'jet judo' as they called it upon the trine despite seventy five percent of the time it landed them in the repair bay and Ratchet's 'good graces'. Optimus had to look again when he saw the golden flash of armour and watched as Sunstreaker taunted Skywarp into diving at him, he was sure that he had assigned the gold Lamborghini to keep an optic on Barricade during the shock trooper's time out of the brig. He knew the front-liner would hardly be irresponsible about allowing the shock trooper free rein inside of the base whilst the Decepticons were attacking, but he couldn't help the uneasy feeling settling in his fuel tank.

The Prime had just transferred his gaze to where Ironhide was fighting Shockwave when he heard a roar of anger behind him, he glanced over in his shoulder in time to see Megatron leaping for him. However the semi Peter-built didn't have time to move out of the way and simply prepared himself for the tackle, the Decepticon leader barrelled into him and the pair of them went crashing into the tarmac with a thunderous crash of metal meeting tarmac and concrete. Optimus felt pain explode in his right shoulder and back as they absorbed the blow, but he had to quickly push it to the back of his mind as he worked a leg free from under the heavy bulk of the large silver mech, he planted his one of his peds none too gently in Megatron's abdomen and kicked the Decepticon leader backwards when he felt those dangerous claws attempt to hook under one of his chest plates. The Prime flipped himself up onto his feet before promptly having to throw himself into a sideways roll when his audios detected the sound of a saw slicing through the air, he rolled back onto his peds and aimed his photon rifle at Starscream as the Raptor swung again with the dangerous cutting implement. A well placed plasma round that had Starscream cursing up a storm and temporarily retreating, only gave the semi Peter-built a moments relief as Megatron refused to stay down. He staggered upright and opened fire with his fusion cannon without taking aim, the shot missed Optimus by inches but it took out a few NEST soldiers instead. Furious that the Decepticon leader was now aiming for the humans, the Prime unleashed everything he had to draw the large silver behemoth away from the soldiers. Megatron snarled angrily as one of his shots missed the battalion he was aiming for and harmlessly hit a mound of dirt instead, his crimson optics immediately fell upon the red and blue form of his nemesis whose photon rifle was armed and aimed at the ready, barrel smoking.

"Prime!" He roared as he swung his fusion cannon round to take aim at the semi Peter-built and opened fire. Optimus neatly dodged out of the way before he felt someone ping his comm. link.

_::Optimus, Ratchet reports he has Prowl back on his feet and is just about to rouse Jazz from stasis.::_Trailbreaker reported over a secure comm. frequency.

_::Understood.::_ The Prime responded as he easily dodged the weapons fire intended to take him out of the fight _::Prime to Prowl.::_

_::Prowl here sir.::_Came the response from his second in command.

The semi Peter-built threw himself into another roll to take cover behind one of the raised mounds of earth _::Prowl your orders are to escort Jazz and Bluestreak to the transwarp gate* and see them through, then I want you to head to the control centre I'm sure Trailbreaker would be more than grateful to have your assistance.::_

_::Understood.::_ The tactician replied.

_::Also inform Ratchet, Wheeljack and Red Alert that they are to head through the gate as well should the Decepticons break through our front-line, I also urge that you and Trailbreaker also head on through if the tide doesn't turn in our favour, those are my orders.:: _Optimus told the Dodge Charger.

_::Yes Sir.::_ Prowl responded before he terminated the link.

The Prime twisted to his peds the moment the comm. link went quiet but he had to duck down out of the way when Grindor's back end rotary assembly bounced across the ground, blades still spinning at their deadly speeds until it crashed into the side of a C17 and exploded in a shower of debris. The semi Peter-built remained where he was when Thundercracker dropped out of the sky and barrel rolled over his position, depositing a disgruntled Sideswipe unceremoniously on the top of the mound before blasting off again, muttering death threats as he sped away.

"Oh hey sir." The red Lamborghini said as he pushed himself up and glanced down to where his leader was positioned, he grinned at Optimus before looking up when he heard a jet engine screaming toward them "oh here's my ride." Starscream opened fire the moment he saw both the front-liner and the Autobot leader, uttering gruesome death threats as he made his approach. The Prime opened fire upon the F22 Raptor providing Sideswipe with the opportunity to leap from the mound and onto the silver mech's back, normally he didn't approve of the twins and their so called 'jet judo' but it was an effective way of riling up Starscream and his trine and an easy way to bring them down to their level once their flight capabilities had been disabled. The semi Peter-built could only watch for a moment in amusement as Starscream tried to dislodge his unwelcome passenger before he heard a battle roar, he turned in time to see Megatron throwing his weight at him. Optimus dropped onto his back, grabbing the Decepticon leader's upper arms and planting one of his pedes in the large silver mech's abdomen and catapulted him over the top of him. The large silver mech hit the tarmac with a loud thud and a snarled insult whilst the Prime twisted up onto his feet and settled himself into a defensive posture, ready to take on anything Megatron decided to throw at him.

However deep down Optimus couldn't help but feel an uncomfortable weight settle in his fuel tank as he dodged out of the way when the Decepticon leader finally managed to get back onto his own feet and unleashed a volley with his fusion cannon, he had a feeling this battle was not going to turn in their favour.

**Inside the base ….**

The cacophony of sound was the first thing that greeted him when he on-lined, followed shortly by the bright lights of the med-bay that swam into his vision the moment he powered up his optics and un-shuttered them. He lay there swimming in a haze of sensations as he accessed his diagnostic systems, the ping to each of his primary and secondary systems came back clear, but he frowned when he saw his energy levels sitting just above sixty two percent. He was absolutely sure that his readings were above ninety five percent when he left quarters this morning which had him instantly wondering where the other thirty three had gone. That was until it all came rushing back to him, he recalled being in a briefing with Optimus and Prowl this morning where they had been talking about a new reconnaissance mission coming up when a searing pain cut across the bond, and he had lost consciousness as a result. He suddenly felt his fuel pump skip a beat and his spark clench in its chamber when he realised that something had to have happened to his sparkling, it was the only explanation for the sudden pain cutting across the bond.

"Blue!" Jazz called out in panic as he pulled himself up into a sitting position, although he soon regretted it when a wave of dizziness hit him and his fuel tank gave an unsettled churn.

"'Bout time you came around." Came Ratchet's voice as the CMO turned away from preparing his tools to treat the wounded, he made his way across the med-bay before coming to stand next to the berth the silver mech was currently sat upon "and Bluestreak's fine, Prowl has him."

The saboteur glanced past the medic to where his spark-mate was pacing back and forth, his optical ridges drawn downwards in a frown whilst door wings were held rigidly upon his back. In his arms bundled in a silver thermal blanket was the sparkling, seemingly safe and well.

"Ratch what th' hell happened?" The Solstice inquired as he glanced back at the Hummer who was currently scanning him.

"You lost consciousness in the control room when your energy levels plummeted quickly." Ratchet told him as he checked the results before meeting Jazz's questioning gaze "but right now I don't have the time to answer any questions you've got as Optimus wants you on your feet and through the transwarp gate pronto."

"What? Why?" The saboteur demanded as he slipped off the berth although he had to grip the edge to steady himself.

"The Decepticons are attacking the base." The CMO told him "the Ark is the only safe place for the both of you to be at the moment, Skyfire's already there, he'll be waiting for you."

The Solstice simply nodded as he couldn't get his vocaliser to work, he was finding it hard to process the fact that the Decepticons had discovered their location even though deep down he knew they would eventually. The question was how did they know where to find them? Unless of course Barricade had somehow managed to contact them and give away their location, but Jazz had an inkling that he wouldn't do anything to jeopardise Bluestreak's life. However he was drawn out of his thoughts when Prowl turned sharply from his pacing, his door wings immediately flaring upwards into a sharp 'V' as he made his way over.

"We need to leave now." The tactician told his bonded as he gently handed Bluestreak to the saboteur, the Dodge Charger then turned to Ratchet "there are reports of minor injuries, Optimus has also ordered that should the Decepticons break through the front-lines you, Red Alert and Wheeljack are to head immediately to the Ark."

"No offence Prowl but I'm stayin' here order or no order." The CMO responded sternly, he saw the black and white mech open his mouth plates intending to protest so he held up a hand to prevent him from doing so "our bots are gonna need me and I'll be no good to them if I'm thousands of miles away."

"Ratchet?" Prowl began.

"Go blow it out of your exhaust port Prowl I'm staying, now I suggest you get Blue and Jazz to the gate room before they lose their only possible means of escape." The medic snapped at him, refusing to be swayed into leaving. The tactician clenched his bottom jaw and frowned at the Hummer's choice, but simply nodded in acknowledgement. Wheeljack also agreed to remain behind as well leaving the Dodge Charger no choice but to convey their intentions to Optimus before leading his mate out of the med-bay and into the corridor.

To say the base was disorderly was an understatement Jazz mused as he stepped out of the repair bay behind his spark-mate, he began following him through the interconnecting hallways down to the transwarp gate room. The saboteur took notice during his flight that the humans were rushing back and forth between sections carrying out various assignments whilst back up units were mobilised into joining the battle taking place outside. It suddenly dawned upon him how unfair it seemed that the humans had to stay whilst he had the opportunity to escape, after all they were much more fragile than any Cybertronian baring one. Speaking of which Jazz glanced down at the sparkling in his arms and found he was still deep in recharge amidst the sound of shouting and the explosions that could both be heard and felt. He frowned slightly at that since he knew his creation was a light sleeper and wondered briefly if the medic had given him a sedative to keep him under until they reached the Ark. The saboteur knew something wasn't quite right about his son since the Cybertronian hieroglyphs appeared upon his back and arms, and his suspicions only grew when he glanced at his bond-mate. Prowl's entire posture was tense and seemed rather anxious if not a little jumpy, he also hadn't spoken a single word to him verbally or over the bond, and Jazz was in two minds to stop and demand what was going on.

"Ya know ya should be out there directin' th' battle." The Solstice said finally breaking the silence between them. He couldn't wait to get to the Ark and be able to sit down as his body was currently protesting all of the rushing around, however he didn't want to leave his bond-mate and his comrades here to deal with the Decepticons whilst he was safely stowed away. But he knew that there was no other who would be able to keep Bluestreak calm once the infant woke up from his sedation.

"And I will the moment I know both you and Blue are safe aboard the Ark." The tactician responded as he led his spark-mate round the next corner. He could curse the individual who thought it was suitable and safe enough to put the newly built transwarp gate a couple of miles away from the base, but understood the need for it being so far away. After all they couldn't risk the Decepticons being able to capture it and cutting off their only escape from the island. The Dodge Charger glanced back to check on his mate and child, he could tell Jazz was beginning to tire since he had been more adversely affected by what had happened earlier. The black and white mech truly found himself wanting to tell the saboteur about Bluestreak and the real reason why the Decepticons were here, but he didn't for two reasons. One, he knew Jazz was likely to react and they would end up arguing in the corridor despite the imperative need to get their creation off this planet. And two, he didn't want them to leave on bad terms in case something did happen to one of them.

Suddenly he was drawn out of his thoughts when his sensors detected two energy signatures, both Decepticon and the pair of them were heading their way. Prowl knew he had two options; get his mate and child safely to the transwarp gate room and possibly expose its location to the enemy, or he could double back and cut them off, giving Jazz the precious time he needed to escape. It seemed the saboteur knew what his intentions were once his own sensors detected the two Decepticons as he stopped in his tracks, prompting Prowl to slow down in his strides and face him.

The Solstice scrutinised his mate closely "Don't you dare, the odds are two against one, ya could be killed."

"Jazz there's no other way, we cannot afford to expose the location of the gate room, and more importantly it'll bid time for both you and Blue to escape." The tactician told him, he could see the uncertainty in Jazz's optics. The black and white mech pulled his bonded close, making sure not to crush their sparkling between them, and smoothed a thumb over one of his mate's defined cheek arches in a slow lingering touch "I will come back to you … both of you, I promise." Prowl barely gave the saboteur the chance to open his mouth plates and protest when he gently shoved his mate in the direction of the gate room "go now!" The Solstice glanced at his bond-mate one last time, their gazes meeting briefly before he turned and sprinted in the opposite direction just as thundering footsteps fell upon Prowl's last location. He felt one last once of comfort and reassurance from his spark-mate before their shared link went quiet as a mental barrier sprung up, blocking them from one another.

Jazz rushed down the corridor keeping a tight but not painful grip upon the bundle in his arms, only to feel someone grab his left arm and yank him into a side corridor. His gaze instantly fell upon the black and white chassis that was not his bonded and his azure optics met crimson ones. However he didn't get the chance to open his mouth plates to utter a word when Barricade leant around the corner of the hallway and opened fire, the saboteur heard a pained squeal before silence fell upon the corridor. The shock trooper met his gaze once again before it trailed down to the bundle trapped between them, the saboteur was sure there was a flicker of emotion upon the Mustang's facial plates as the black and white mech finally got to see with his optics, the sparkling that had been created by his brother and his mate.

The Solstice couldn't help but feel uncomfortable about how intimately close he was with Barricade. However for some strange reason he felt safe, he knew it was due to the protective aura emanating from the shock trooper rather than the deadly one he normally exuded. He watched closely as the Mustang raised one of his arms, he brushed deadly sharp claws tentatively against the silver fabric of the thermal blanket near the infant's head, seemingly afraid to touch him.

"'Cade." Jazz called softly and immediately crimson optics met his cerulean ones. The saboteur then roughly shoved Barricade backwards prompting an irritated growl to escape the Mustang, not taking any chances the Solstice freed his right arm by transferring Bluestreak's form to his left arm and converted it into his plasma cannon.

"Don't get your gyros in a twist, I have no intention of harming you or … Bluestreak." Barricade told him pausing for a moment to remember the infant's designation "I wanted to ensure your safe passage through the transwarp gate."

"Why?" The silver mech demanded "an' where's Sunstreaker?"

"If you remember Autobit, I made a pact with you which means I am to ensure your safety." His gaze dropped to the sparkling "both of yours, and I got rid of the gold nuisance when those pit fraggin' morons began attacking the base."

Jazz frowned when he realised something "How do ya know about th' gate?"

"I hacked into your security grid, which was too easy by the way considering that paranoid glitch you call a security director integrated more than a dozen algorithms to make it nearly impossible to crack." The shock trooper told him as he grabbed the saboteur's right arm and steered him out of the corridor they had been stood in. The Solstice caught a glimpse of flat silver plates with razor sharp edges embedded in the walls, ceiling and floor, and there was a distinct tang of burnt energon in the air. But the silver mech paid it no mind, although he was somewhat surprised that the Mustang had killed Reedman without so much of a second thought.

"How do ya know so much about security algorithms anyway, never figured ya fer a hacker?" Jazz inquired keeping a close optic upon Barricade, after all the shock trooper couldn't be trusted regardless of whether he had claimed neutrality or not.

A dark chuckle escaped the Mustang as he checked to make sure the way was clear "You'd be surprised what you pick up when you get stuck with a spastic little scraplet like Frenzy as company for a few millennia."

The saboteur made a small noise of agreement as they made their way through the interconnecting corridors until they reached the section of the base that housed the transwarp gate. The Solstice input the code into the pad on the wall next to the large door before a soft beep alerted him to it being accepted. A soft hiss sounded in the corridor before Barricade moved to grasp the handle and pulled it open, the door squeaking on its hinges before the lights lit up in sequence illuminating the hallway beyond.

"Nearly there." Jazz told him as he stepped inside first.

"Do you Autobots ever build anything useful close by?" The black and white mech grumbled to himself as he stepped over the ledge and into the hallway.

"We like ta make things harder fer …..." The saboteur began only to trail off when a missile was fired from seemingly nowhere and headed straight for them, the shock trooper grabbed the Solstice's arm, tugging the silver mech to him and out of harms way. The Mustang clutched Jazz to him closely, shielding him from flying debris when the missile impacted with the end wall and exploded with a loud bang. The floor trembled beneath them whilst super heated metal showered down upon them, dust and smoke instantly filled the small space prompting both mechs to begin 'coughing' to clear their intakes of the clogging particles.

"Is … there …. another way … round?" Barricade demanded in-between coughs.

"Yea back … that way." The saboteur responded gesturing in the direction they had just come from. The silver mech could feel anxiety beginning to settle into his frame when his audio receptors detected the presence of another. Suddenly panic set in when he realised that this possible Decepticon had to be one of the two his mate had tried to prevent them from reaching him. He also knew that it could mean that Prowl had possibly been overpowered by one or both of them, allowing a singular 'con to slip past him. The Solstice attempted to probe along the bond to ensure that his bonded was alright, only to greet the mental barrier that stood in the way which offered little to no comfort.

"Oh look what I've got, one Autoscum and a traitorous glitch." Came a voice through the dust and smoke, both Jazz and Barricade had to dive out of the way when a couple of plasma rounds were fired in their direction. The saboteur grunted in pain when his right side absorbed much of the impact, but he quickly pushed the pain to the back of his mind as he shifted the thermal blanket bundled around Bluestreak to quickly check the still slumbering sparkling over. The Solstice could hear the shock trooper curse vehemently, he glanced across to where the Mustang was currently picking himself up from the floor before a weapon was drawn. Jazz had to double take when he saw the plasma rifle in Barricade's hands, he frowned at that as he was sure all of the black and white's weapons had been disabled. Unless, and it was likely, the shock trooper had codes to override any lock downs implemented upon his systems. The saboteur got to his feet readying his own weapon when the large figure of Blitzwing finally stepped into view, shoulder mounted cannons pointed directly at them. Jazz subconsciously tightened his grip upon his infant as he took in every dent, scrape and melted armour plates on the heavy hitter, he couldn't help but smirk at the fact his bonded had managed to inflict some damage to the triple changer.

"Who'd thought Starscream would send lowly scum like you to do his dirty work?" The Mustang said as he shifted to position himself in front of the Solstice.

A dark chuckle escaped Blitzwing "That pit fragger didn't send me … Megatron did."

"Megatron is rustin' at th' bottom of th' ocean bolt fer brains." Jazz retorted, he refused to believe that some how the Decepticon leader had been reactivated. But those words he remembered being uttered to him those months ago were coming back to plague him.

The heavy hitter settled his crimson gaze upon the partially obscured saboteur "That's where you're wrong Autobot, out leader Megatron has returned to us."

"Oh really?" Barricade asked as he moved to face the Solstice, the silver mech immediately began calculating the odds of him escaping now if the shock trooper decided to realign himself with the Decepticons, especially now that he knew his former leader was alive.

"Shoulda known ya would go runnin' back ta th' 'cons th' first chance ya got." Jazz snapped, his glare hidden by his visor.

Barricade simply smirked as he levelled his weapon at the saboteur "You Autobots are all the same … naïve and foolish."

"Least we're not back stabbin' murderin' cowards." The Solstice growled as he met the shock trooper's crimson gaze "shoulda let Ironhide dispose of ya when he had th' chance."

"Enough talk!" Blitzwing roared as he settled his optics upon the Mustang "why haven't you slagged him yet?"

"Good question." The black and white mech replied before twisting round and shooting the heavy hitter square in the chest plates, the triple changer squawked in pain and surprise as he stumbled backwards before he lashed out. Blitzwing heard a grunt of pain and smirked when he realised he had managed to back hand Barricade, the shock trooper staggered backwards somewhat dazed by the blow. However the Mustang recovered quickly and began attacking the much larger Decepticon, drawing him away from the entrance to the hallway so Jazz could slip past him and escape. But the heavy hitter countered each of the attacks before he grabbed the shock trooper's melee weapon and pulled the black and white mech toward him, once the Mustang was in range he punched Barricade solidly in the facial plates then he tossed him aside. However he knew he couldn't gloat in his victory as he was well aware of the Autobot desperately trying to escape, so ignoring the Mustang for now, he leapt for the Autobot saboteur, wrapping clawed fingers around a silver ankle and tugging it out from under the fleeing Solstice.

Jazz twisted to avoid falling upon his front and kicked out with his other leg, his foot impacted with the heavy hitter's facial plates prompting several venomous words being uttered by the triple changer. But Blitzwing recovered quickly and attempted to reach for the bundle in the saboteur's arm only to curse vehemently once again, he recoiled away from the Solstice when a sharp blade bit through his forearm armour. The silver mech snarled at him as he twisted back onto his feet, but the heavy hitter simply shook off the injury as he pushed himself up from the floor and steadied himself enough to aim a shot and open fire. However the plasma round from the cannon went wide when the shock trooper managed to shake off his injury and rammed his right shoulder into the large mech's side, sending the pair of them crashing to the floor. The Mustang quickly recovered from the fall and straddled the Decepticon heavy hitter and landed several hits to Blitzwing's facial and chest plates, using his knees to pin the triple changer's arms to the floor as he delivered the blows.

"Jazz run!" Barricade shouted, the saboteur didn't need telling twice and rushed past the pair upon the floor. However Blitzwing wasn't about to give up that easy as he shook off the blows raining down upon him and used one of his knees to deliver a blow to the shock trooper's backside, the momentum from the knock carried the Mustang forward giving the heavy hitter the chance to head butt him and toss him aside once again. The triple changer snarled angrily as he saw a flash of silver slip round the corner, he scrambled to his feet cursing the Autobots and their lineage as he raced after the Solstice. He managed to catch up with the smaller mech and opened fire with one of his shoulder mounted cannons, Jazz detected the plasma round and activated his forcefield to drive it away. However it quickly became his own undoing as the round bounced off the forcefield and slammed into the wall next to the exit he was heading for, the concrete exploded in a shower of debris prompting the saboteur to take cover behind his own low level forcefield. The Solstice cursed vehemently when he realised his only exit had been blocked, he twisted to his pedes ready to dodge out of the way when Blitzwing lined up another shot aimed squarely for the silver Autobot's spark chamber.

However once again his aim was thrown off when Barricade fired several rounds into his back plating, the heavy hitter snarled in both anger and frustration. He turned to face the shock trooper only to catch a stray shot to the facial plates, the triple changer stumbled backwards cursing vehemently and they became much worse when Jazz added his two cents from behind him. Deciding that he needed to take one of them out of the fight, Blitzwing aimed his efforts upon the Mustang. The heavy hitter shook off the shots and charged at the black and white mech, taking him completely by surprise, it only took a few seconds to disable Barricade as he grabbed the shock trooper's right arm bending the arm awkwardly at the joint before he slammed him face first into the wall, knocking him off-line. He was half tempted to kill him here and now, but decided that privilege was better saved for Megatron.

After seeing Barricade knocked down, Jazz knew he had no choice but to fight off Blitzwing despite the fact he was still clutching Bluestreak with one arm. He used the few precious moments he had whilst the heavy hitter was distracted and hid his sparkling in a small vent on the wall, he closed it just in time as the heavy hitter twisted round to face him and sneered at him. The triple changer lunged for him and the Solstice barely had the chance to dive out of the way and roll back onto his peds. There were times when Jazz absolutely hated ground combat such as now since unlike space, his movements were restricted and there was always the continual danger of suffering damage from the local environment, or worse getting trapped somewhere. He rolled out of the way of Blitzwing's barrage of weapon fire before he had to duck under a swipe of the heavy hitter's long clawed fingers that were determined to snag themselves in his armour, the saboteur knew he had to try and remain out of range of them whilst trying to prevent the much larger Decepticon from locating Bluestreak at the same time. Jazz ran, whilst ignoring the injuries he had sustained, and fired his own barrage of weapons fire from his arm cannon stopping the triple changer cold in his advance toward him.

"Hold still Autobot so I can crush you." Blitzwing snarled as he sprung forward with an angry swipe of his claws only for Jazz to dodge nimbly to the side, it was times like that, that the saboteur appreciated his small size.

"Not a chance, what makes ya think I'm gonna give ya the pleasure of tearin' me apart?" The Solstice asked as he flipped his left wrist and slid out the long double edged blade. He decided to make an attempt to get in close, he swung the silver blade as he raced past the heavy hitter and it sliced cleanly through the triple changer's left calf armour and into the sensitive circuits underneath. The Decepticon snarled in pain and his knee collapsed out from beneath him, he swung out again and was satisfied to hear a pained yelp as Jazz was slammed into the wall. The saboteur crumpled to his own knees, head and audios ringing from the impact.

He managed to regain enough of his senses when Blitzwing opened fire, he rolled awkwardly to one side which was more out of reflex than anything else. However with his equilibrium still shot, Jazz had no choice but to use the wall of the hallway behind himself to regain his balance which was exactly the opportunity the heavy hitter was looking for. With fast efficiency for a mech his size, the triple changer struck out with a long thin piece of debris and pinned the silver Autobot to the wall through his left shoulder. Blitzwing stepped closer to the silver Autobot twisting the piece of debris as he did so, he sneered at the satisfactory sound of metal armour, circuitry and tendons alike being manipulated around the piece of metal. Jazz grunted in pain and instantly gripped the heavy hitter's wrist to try and pry him lose, but his right arm was hastily swiped away and pinned to the wall beside him by the triple changer's available arm.

"I will delight in tearing you apart if you refuse to tell me where the sparkling is." Blitzwing said as he hastily scanned the hallway before turning his attention back on Jazz.

"Go to hell." The saboteur hissed.

"Not before you Autoscum." The heavy hitter responded before he roughly yanked the Solstice right arm out to the side. Jazz refused to cry out when he felt a searing pain in his shoulder joint and across the right side of his chest as joints were pulled and strained against their normal design "now I will ask one more time where is the sparkling?"

".'.Hell." Jazz spat angrily at him and this time Blitzwing opted for the other shoulder, he twisted the piece of debris round slowly earning him a grunt of pain although there was still no scream from the Autobot saboteur. The heavy hitter sneered at the grimace upon the smaller mech's facial plates, however his attention was soon drawn away from him when he heard a muffled whimper. He saw a brief flicker of panic appear upon the saboteur's facial plates before the Autobot was doubling his efforts to escape, the triple changer grinned as he stepped away from Jazz and made his way over to where he could hear the whimpers coming from "you lay a finger on him an' I'll kill you!"

"You're hardly in a position to do anything Autobot." Blitzwing said as he peeled away the debris blocking the vent cover and ripped it off, he reached inside and drew out the squirming bundle "all this trouble for an insignificant life form, although Megatron know you have potential little one."

The Solstice ceased briefly in his struggles "What the frag is that supposed ta mean?"

The heavy hitter made his way over, a cruel smile upon his lip components "I take it you don't know?"

"Know what?" Jazz growled, his gaze firmly settled upon the infant's slowly waking form in the Decepticons clawed hands. He was finding it hard no matter how much he tried, to loosen the piece of debris and dislodge it from his shoulder.

"That he is the Allspark reborn." The triple changer sneered, he watched in satisfaction as a surprised look overcame the saboteur's facial plates before an angry snarl began to form "looks like your own faction has been keeping things from you."

"You lie." The Solstice hissed, although deep down he couldn't help but believe that it was true. After all it would explain the strange markings he had found on Bluestreak that morning, and what must have happened in the rec. room when he lost consciousness as he briefly remembered sensing a surge of Allspark energy before it happened. He had also felt Prowl's confusion in the brief moment before he blacked out, but now he was beginning to suspect the the reasoning for his loss of consciousness was due to his sparkling somehow tapping into their shared link and using it to draw energy from them. It would also explain why the infant had demanded a second feeding this morning rather than his usual one, but what Jazz couldn't understand was why hadn't Ratchet picked up anything unusual on his scans, unless and it was likely, he had decided not to say anything to either of them. However the saboteur had a sneaking suspicion that Prowl already knew about Bluestreak with the way his bond-mate had been behaving lately, which in turn only further added to the ire that was already infusing his frame.

Suddenly he was drawn out of his thoughts when his sensors detected a displacement of air before Skywarp materialised in the hallway, looking decidedly irritated. Jazz couldn't help but panic now that the teleporter was in the same proximity and doubled his efforts on escaping from where he was pinned. The saboteur knew he couldn't do anything to harm Blitzwing whilst he was holding Bluestreak in his arms, but he could easily disable the purple Raptor to ensure that they couldn't teleport out of the hallway.

"What the slag's been takin' you so long?" Skywarp demanded as he glared at the triple changer.

"I decided to have a little fun." The heavy hitter responded with a smirk as he glanced at the downed form of Barricade before his gaze switched to the snarling and thrashing form of the Autobot.

"Megatron didn't send you to have fun, he sent you to retrieve the sparkling, glitch brain." The Raptor growled angrily "we could have been off this pit forsaken planet a lot sooner."

"Megatron can go blow it out of his …..." His words trailed off when there was a squeal of metal and a pained grunt from behind him, he glanced over his shoulder to see that Jazz had finally managed to free himself and was now stood upon trembling legs. He grinned manically as he handed the whimpering infant over to his comrade and flexed clawed hands, he would delight in tearing this Autobot apart especially in front of his sparkling.

The saboteur watched as Skywarp handled his sparkling much more carefully than Blitzwing did and saw the frown appearing upon the Raptor's facial plates. The Solstice distinctly remembered being told about the protective coding that had been hard wired into the fliers, but he had never seen any of them affected by it until now. However he was drawn away from his thoughts regarding the odds of getting his sparkling back from the F22 when heavy hitter fired a round in his direction, Jazz dodged it easily although his reaction time was slowed considerably because of his shoulder wound. But right now he was more focused upon getting Bluestreak back from the Decepticons as he ducked and dodged out of the way, however fate would have it that his wounds would work against him giving the triple changer the chance to grab his arm and slamming him bodily into the wall face first. The jolt was hard enough to ensure he lost consciousness and the last thing he saw before he blacked out was Blitzwing approaching him. The heavy hitter settled into a crouch next to him, a victorious smile upon his lip components before Jazz finally sunk down into the blackness of unconsciousness.

**Outside the base ….**

The clash between the two forces was furious with each matching one another in strength and numbers, the humans in-between retrieving their dead where they fell, continued their continuous fire upon the Decepticons from any vantage point they could get to without being blown away. But that tactic was only going to work for a short while before one of the Decepticons decided to brave it and rush toward the front lines, a challenge easily accepted by Grindor who managed to shake off his previous opponents and penetrate the line before being met in battle by Ironhide. Megatron had taken to the skies for what particular reason? Optimus didn't know but he knew he was looking for something in-between unleashing torrents of laser fire upon him. The Prime simply dodged out of the way and threw himself into a roll just in time as Shockwave fired a round in his direction before the Decepticon scientist was hit by several plasma rounds from Mirage. The Semi Peter-built pulled his rifle off his back and opened up a barrage of weapons fire as he continued to run across the tarmac, Megatron rose higher into the sky before banking sharply to begin his descent. Optimus lined up a shot and it pierced through the Decepticon tyrant's right wing. Megatron snarled and immediately descended rapidly upon the Prime's location, he transformed into his bipedal mode and landed with a loud body jarring thud, his blood red optics instantly locking onto his nemesis' blue ones as he stood but a few metres away, rifle clearly aimed at him.

"How long did you think you could hide it from me, Prime?" Megatron snarled.

"The infant's existence is of no danger to you Megatron" Optimus replied as he carefully watched the large mech transform his right hand into the wicked sword that he possessed.

"Maybe but his existence only provides you with an advantage, and I cannot not allow that to happen." The Decepticon leader said as he quickly glanced behind Optimus to see the fight between his own warriors and Prime's beginning to escalate into hand to hand combat, interspersed with plasma rounds to deal greater damage to their opponents. In those few seconds he saw Thundercracker barrel roll and depositing the red front-liner upon the tarmac, the Lamborghini's twin brother was currently firing upon Starscream who was diving for the gold mech but he had to pull away when a shot clipped his right wing. Megatron returned his attention back to his nemesis who hadn't moved an inch, his weapon still trained upon him "even as we speak now, two of my soldiers are tracking him down."

Optimus growled at the back of his throat, internally berating himself for not noticing the lack of Blitzwing, Sideways and now Skywarp. The Prime just hoped that Jazz was able to reach the transwarp gate with Bluestreak before they invaded the base, and was now safe aboard the Ark. However that same old feeling of dread was settling in his fuel tanks and knew something terrible was going down. He briefly wondered why Red Alert hadn't contacted them about a possible intrusion into the base until he tried to open a comm. link and static met his audios; that could only mean one thing, Soundwave was either blocking all their transmissions or one of the Decepticons had emitted an EMP to take out communications early on in the fight.

Suddenly Megatron's spiky helm snapped up into the sky above them before he transferred his gaze back to the semi Peter-built, he sneered at the Autobot leader as he primed his fusion cannon ready to fire again. His crimson optics flickered over Optimus' right shoulder to see Shockwave take down the Autobot femme with a well aimed shot before his singular optic settled upon the Prime's exposed back, the Apache helicopter turned his weapon upon the semi Peter-built and opened fire. It seemed Optimus suspected an attack from behind and easily dodged out of the way, but the Prime hadn't been expecting the Decepticon leader to open fire at the same time and was sent sprawling to the ground, left shoulder smoking.

Megatron quickly approached his nemesis and pinned the damaged arm to the ground by stepping on it before aiming his fusion cannon down at the semi Peter-built's chest plates "You've lost Optimus, you're 'advantage' is gone." A brief look of concern appeared upon the downed Prime's facial plates before he snarled angrily up at the Decepticon leader. A dark chuckle escaped the large silver mech as he powered up his fusion cannon and opened fire, however the shot never made contact as a round of plasma fire slammed into his side sending him staggering sideways. Megatron growled angrily as he snapped his helm around in the direction the attack came from to see the Autobot's weapons specialist rushing across the tarmac, his twin cannons smoking and no doubt ready to fire again. The Decepticon leader tore his gaze away from the advancing GMC Top kick to glare at Optimus "you've won this round Prime, but you won't next time." The large silver mech shifted into his jet mode and immediately blasted up into the air, calling for a retreat as he did so.

Optimus pulled himself up painfully into a sitting position, his gaze fixated upon the retreating forms of the Decepticons before his gaze swept over the battlefield. Many of his fellow Autobots were wounded from the fight, but several of them were more concerned with dealing with putting out fires and attending to the humans. He could hear Major Lennox shouting orders over the clamour of noise, and was somewhat relieved to hear that there hadn't been too many casualties, although in his mind he knew more than dozen was still a few too many.

"Prime are you alright?" Ironhide asked as he came to stand beside his leader, offering him a helping hand.

"I'm fine Ironhide." The semi Peter-built responded as he accepted the help and pulled himself upright. His spark sank at the sight of two human soldiers that had been killed in the fight, were brought across and laid out upon a black tarpaulin in order to be identified and for a count of how many had lost their lives.

"I thought that fragger was supposed to be rustin' at the bottom of the ocean?" The weapons specialist growled, his gaze was also fixated upon the grim task being carried out by their human allies.

"As did I." Optimus replied as he attempted to log onto the communications network and was relieved when he found it functioning normally again, he pinged the comm. links of every Autobot he knew was still in the base to get status reports from them, although he did receive a lengthy triad from Red Alert until he quickly cut him off. The Prime learned that Blitzwing and Sideways had managed to get inside of the base, but the latter of the pair had been subdued whilst the former couldn't be traced. The semi Peter-built wasn't sure what to make of that statement but a part of him hoped that the Decepticon heavy hitter had been taken off-line. Optimus organised his fellow Autobots so those that were severely injured could report down to the med-bay for repairs whilst the others were mobilised into action once again in clearing up.

"You know we're gonna hear about this from that pip squeak Galloway." The GMC Top kick said as both he and the Prime began heading toward the main entrance of the base.

"I'm well aware of that." The Semi Peter-built replied. No doubt the liaison wouldn't be the only individual they would receive a 'reprimand' from, the humans military would probably have a few choice words about exposing the base's location to the Decepticons. Optimus was certainly not looking forward to the conference that would be convened later as he hated having to deal with the human bureaucrats, especially little arrogant gits by the name of Galloway who exactly how to drive the knife into a wound and keep it open until he was finished. They met Prowl on the way to the command centre and the Prime couldn't help but take in the injuries his second had incurred, most of it was dents and scrapes and a few plasma burns not too mention a couple of nasty claw marks that gouged deep into his plating. But other than that he was relatively okay.

"I've apprehended Sideways, but unfortunately Blitzwing managed to slip by me." The tactician told his leader.

"Red Alert reported that he's been unable to trace his signal." The Semi Peter-built responded "which means he's either been deactivated, gone through the gate or he escaped with Skywarp."

"Skywarp?" The Dodge Charger inquired with concern laced in the tone of his voice "he was in the base as well?"

"Yea the slagger disappeared half way through the battle, weren't sure where he went." Ironhide told him, although they all knew what the implications could be if the purple Raptor had managed to get into the base and teleport back out again.

"I just hope Jazz and lil Blue got off the base safely." Ironhide said as they strode through the interconnecting corridors that would take them to the command centre.

"As do I old friend." Optimus replied as he inspected his shoulder wound, he knew that he should really be heading down to the med-bay to have it seen too, but there were things he had to attend to before he submitted himself to the 'tender mercies' of the CMO. The Prime glanced at his 2IC when Prowl suddenly stopped in his tracks and he frowned when he saw the look of concern and worry upon his facial plates "Prowl?"

"Jazz is still here on Earth, I can sense him." The tactician responded before he abruptly turned and began sprinting in the opposite direction.

"Frag I bet the kid didn't make it off the planet." The weapons specialist cursed as he and Optimus followed after the Dodge Charger, both of them suddenly concerned for Jazz's and Bluestreak's well-being. The three of them quickly made their way through the interconnecting corridors, dodging any human in the hallways. They rushed in the direction of the transwarp gate room only to run into a pile of debris blocking the only way in "you gotta be fraggin' kiddin' me."

"They're definitely behind all this rubble." Prowl told his leader as he inspected the debris trapping his bonded and brother beyond, he could sense both of their spark signatures just beyond the rubble. He couldn't sense Bluestreak's and hoped that it meant that the sparkling was off the planet, and that his spark-mate had simply decided to return to Earth to join the fight. But he knew somehow deep down that it wasn't the case.

"They?" Ironhide inquired as he folded his arms across his broad chest.

"Barricade is in there with Jazz." The tactician responded as he grabbed a shredded metal plate and gave it a tug, it came away with a screech of metal and a groan as it came loose.

"Fraggin' 'con." The weapons specialist cursed as he let his arms drop to his sides and his plasma cannons whirl to life.

"Ironhide." Optimus rumbled in warning as he too began pulling debris out of the way and setting it aside.

"For all we know Optimus, he led them here." The large burly black mech said as he reluctantly joined in removing the debris out of the way, if he could he would be happy to let the shock trooper rust in there, but since one of his own comrades was also trapped, he had no choice but to lend a hand.

The Dodge Charger grunted as he pulled a particularly heavy piece out of the way and pushed it aside, allowing it to fall to the floor with a crash "And I'm inclined to agree with you, however we need to clear a path to the transwarp room and I'm more than anxious to know if my mate and child are safe." The black and white mech had felt both Jazz's and Bluestreak's distress through the bond the moment he had reopened it, but right now all he was sensing was anger from his bonded and he could only hope that no harm had come to his family.

**Behind the rubble ….**

Barricade could curse the Cybertronian deity Primus sometimes as he was sure he held a grudge against him. Here he was stuck in an Autobot base, trapped in a hallway that looked like it was ready to collapse upon him, and to top if off; a severely pissed off Cybertronian was pacing back and forth not far from him. Every now and again Jazz would make the attempt to try and free any of the debris blocking their escape route, but the saboteur was only rewarded by the debris staying firm where it was, mocking him. Once or twice, the shock trooper had pulled the Solstice out of harm's way when a light fitting or a beam collapsed only to be thanked by the silver mech ripping his arm free and beginning his pacing anew. The Mustang could feel the grief and anger emanating from the the Autobot and knew anything he said wouldn't help, not whilst Jazz was grieving for the loss of his offspring. The black and white mech cursed himself inwardly for not being able to put up a better fight against the heavy hitter and preventing the kidnapping of Bluestreak, after all he had sworn to protect both the infant and his carrier. Barricade pressed his back against the wall and slid down to sit in a crouch, although his injuries protested the movement and he couldn't help the small hiss of pain escaping him.

"You know pacing isn't going to bring him back." The shock trooper said as he focused his crimson gaze upon the opposite wall. The words leaving his vocaliser snapped the saboteur out of his daze, the Solstice snarled angrily before stalking his way across. The Mustang barely had a chance to defend himself when the silver mech grabbed the V shaped bar across the top of his chest with clawed fingers, hauled him up from the floor in a surprising show of strength and slammed Barricade into the wall.

"Shut up!" Jazz growled, his visor flashing brightly in anger.

The saboteur had yet to disengage his battle systems which the shock trooper knew would make his highly dangerous if the wrong thing was said, or a wrong move made. The Mustang could feel a tremble in the Solstice's left arm which he knew was a result of the wound in his shoulder that was still oozing energon, sensing the advantage he pushed back and the silver mech stumbled backwards.

"What happened was not your fault unless you want to consider yourself weak and pathetic." Barricade began readying himself for an attack from Jazz. It came swiftly that he nearly missed the saboteur leaping for him and the clawed hands aimed for his chest plates, the shock trooper grabbed the Solstice's wrists and forced him backwards slamming him bodily into the wall opposite them. The silver mech grunted from the impact and immediately began struggling to get free "I'll let you go if you listen to reason."

"Frag you." Jazz hissed angrily, ignoring how the Mustang's clawed digits were sinking into the joints of his wrists and how close they were to one another "he was my son, I shoulda protected 'im better."

"If there's anyone you feel that you need to blame, it should be your leader and your bond-mate." The black and white mech told him, he knew what he had to tell the silver mech was likely to cause unnecessary tension within the base, but the saboteur had a right to know about the information that was being kept from him.

The Solstice ceased in his struggling and the visor slid up revealing scrutinising azure optics "What the hell's that supposed ta mean?"

"They could have prevented this from happening by telling you about Bluestreak least then you could have been better prepared." Barricade hissed "but as the true fraggin' naïve Autobots that they are, they chose to keep it from you."

"What the hell are ya talkin' about?" Jazz demanded as he shoved the shock trooper backwards, ignoring how his left shoulder protested the sudden motion.

"You know exactly what I'm talkin' about." The Mustang snarled back in return "they kept this from you purposely."

"What?" The saboteur snapped, he could feel Bluestreak's distress even though they were separated by possibly hundreds if not thousands of miles of ocean, land, air and space. He managed to quell his temper in order to send comforting and reassuring thoughts over the strained link despite his own distress at being separated from his son. Jazz felt his spark clench in its chamber as guilt and regret at not being able to protect the infant from being kidnapped by the Decepticons began to set in. He couldn't help but let his processor come up with the many different possible reasons why the Decepticons would want Bluestreak, other than the idea that he was somehow the Allspark reborn. Which only made him fear for the sparkling's safety more as he knew what the enemy was like when it came to Autobot sparklings and younglings, they had no compunction about terminating them in the slightest.

The black and white mech stalked towards the Solstice who backed up a few paces in response "They both knew about Bluestreak being the new possible Allspark and I bet good energon that your medic also knew about the bitlet's 'condition'."

"How do you know all this?" The silver mech growled "for all I know this could be some form of elaborate plan, you're a Decepticon after all no matter whether ya claimed neutrality or not."

"Well if you haven't noticed I'm not exactly employee of the month, and as to my allegiance? Would I really expose this location so I could be dismantled by the others?" Barricade snarled, crimson optics bright with anger "and I know all of this slag because I had Frenzy run numerous infiltration ops which is exactly how Starscream not Megatron knew about Bluestreak." He saw an angry snarl forming upon Jazz's facial plates whilst clawed hands flexed and clenched. The shock trooper had only seen the saboteur angry a few times and knew there was a high possibility of his spark being extinguished at the Solstice's hands if the silver mech was to suddenly lose his control over his emotions "blame me if you want but they would have found out about his existence sooner or later."

"Believe me I have every intention of blamin' ya fer th' reason why th' 'cons were here." Jazz told him.

"Then why haven't you killed me yet?" The Mustang demanded.

"Because there's only one bot who holds that privilege, besides ya swore ta protect Bluestreak … all good that did." The saboteur sneered in return, his entire frame tense with anger and underlying grief, right now all he wanted was his son back safely in his arms.

Barricade glared at the Solstice "I wasn't the only one who failed him." The silver mech growled in warning and the shock trooper knew that Jazz was stepping very close to that line now before he lost all control.

Suddenly the pair of them were drawn out of their glaring contest when they heard a piece of debris shift, immediately both of them were on high alert, their sensor nets tuned to the highest frequency in order to detect any change in the structural integrity of the hallway. But when they heard a colourful curse that could only come from Ironhide and the pair of them could sense Prowl's spark signature, they knew that the shift in debris could only mean that the other Autobots were digging them out. Jazz felt his spark-mate probe along the bond only to recoil away from the anger emanating from the saboteur, the Solstice could feel his concerned and worried thoughts but simply shut them out by putting a block in place. Too angry to want any form of comfort right now.

Both Jazz and Barricade listened to the myriad of noises from the other side of the debris as the Autobots on the other side worked to free them, the shock trooper glanced at the saboteur questioningly, wondering if he would help out but when the Solstice glared at him in return, he knew he was going to be on his own. The Mustang managed to move concrete slabs and pieces of metal out of the way despite his injuries protesting the exertion he was putting his frame under, he cursed colourfully a few times when a pieces of debris became wedged or slid out of place, nearly injuring him in the process. Behind him the special ops mech was more focused upon pacing back and forth, his entire frame tense and no doubt ready to snap, Barricade just hoped that Jazz planned to vent his anger out on his younger brother and the Autobot leader and not him. Finally he managed to pull a piece of metal out of the way with a grunt before wedging his clawed fingers into the partition in the attempt to get one of the doors open, although he quickly retreated when he heard the distinct whine of a plasma cannon on the other side. The door he had been trying to pry open, bowed sharply allowing those on the other side to pull it open, the shock trooper muttered something unintelligible under his breath when he saw the familiar form of his sibling before he quickly transferred his gaze to the saboteur.

"Jazz!" Prowl called the moment he stepped under the large beam that crossed diagonally from the ceiling to the floor, his cerulean optics landing upon the injured frame of his spark-mate "Jazz are you alright? Where's Bluestreak?"

That was it! The simple two questions was all it took to have Jazz snapping like a tight rope. Barricade barely had the chance to utter a warning to his younger sibling before the saboteur sprung, swinging a fist the moment he was in range. Luckily enough Ironhide had just stepped through the gap and tackled the attacking Solstice before the clawed fist could score a hit upon the tactician. Jazz kicked and squirmed to get lose from the weapons specialist's hold, he even attempted to drop his weight to the floor but the large bulky black mech held his wrists tightly.

"What the slag Jazz?" Ironhide demanded.

However it seemed to fall on deaf audios as the saboteur glared darkly at his surprised if not somewhat shocked bond-mate, never before had the Solstice ever swung a punch in his direction, except when sparring, but that was entirely different circumstances. However right now even with the bond blocked, he could tell anger was radiating off the silver mech in waves.

"You stupid fragger!" Jazz screamed at the tactician as he flailed to get loose "you shoulda told me! I had every right ta know about Blue."

"Jazz I ..." The tactician began as he glanced away from his livid spark-mate before meeting angry azure optics again.

"Don't you dare tell me you had every intention ta tell me when the time called for it, ya shoulda told me, both of you." The saboteur snapped angry as he turned a glare upon his leader.

"What's he talkin' about?" Ironhide inquired, he didn't quite understand why the Solstice was so livid besides the fact his sparkling was no where in sight. He knew there were two possible chances that Bluestreak was now safe aboard the Ark and Jazz had chose to remain behind, or the Decepticons had taken the infant which more or less explained the saboteur's behaviour completely.

"Now is probably not the time." The Prime began as he glanced at the weapons specialist before returning his attention to the livid silver mech "Jazz I understand that you're upset ..."

"Upset? You didn't just watch your son bein' taken from ya, you have no idea how I feel right now." The Solstice growled.

The semi Peter-built vented a heavy sigh from his intakes "In actual fact Jazz I do, I know what its like to feel powerless or not being quick enough to prevent a loved one from being taken." His gaze momentarily flickered to the shock trooper who had been quiet so far to see him inspecting a few of his wounds, but Optimus knew he was listening into their conversation "and the reason I never told you was to due to the fact Blue was only newborn at the time of the discovery and you had more than enough to deal with being new parents." He glanced across to his rather subdued 2IC "Prowl found out by accident and we agreed to inform you when a more prudent time presented itself." The Prime knew he had urged the tactician to inform his spark-mate about Bluestreak's 'condition', only to have his own words uttered back to him, that the 2IC would tell Jazz 'when the situation called for it'.

"That's not the point." Jazz argued "if ya had told me, I could have been better prepared."

"It would have only swayed the variables slightly more in our favour, the Decepticons ….." Prowl began as he glanced at his bond-mate.

"Shut up!" The saboteur snapped cutting him off.

"I've heard enough." Barricade finally decided to utter as he marched over, Jazz was about to make a comment about that but didn't get the chance to when the shock trooper jabbed him in the throat, hitting a pressure node that had the Solstice suddenly stiffening before he slumped in Ironhide's arms unconscious. The Mustang glanced at the other Autobots and saw the somewhat surprised if not shocked expressions upon their facial plates "I don't know why any of you didn't do that earlier."

Optimus sighed before fixing Barricade with a slightly exasperated look "I was hoping to talk him round."

"Well it wasn't working, if anything your little 'talk' was making him even more angry." The shock trooper responded as he stepped back and folded his arms across his chest.

"As much as I don't want ta agree with the 'con, he's right the kid was becomin' downright livid." The weapons specialist said as he handed the unconscious Jazz to the Dodge Charger, Prowl reluctantly took his spark-mate from the GMC Top kick as he was still trying to make heads or tails of this situation without giving himself a processor ache or worse; crashing his logic circuits. He was currently feeling guilty at not telling Jazz about Bluestreak, but under that he was also experiencing anger at the Decepticons for stealing their son, not too mention the fear and concern for their sparkling whilst he was currently in the custody of the enemy.

Barricade stepped past his little brother, his crimson optics meeting cerulean ones briefly "You have a lot of explaining to do the moment he regains consciousness." The shock trooper limped past the other black and white mech and clambered through the opening in the debris, leaving Prowl stood there with the off-line form of his bonded in his arms. The tactician met his leader's concerned gaze before he glanced down at his spark-mate, a deep sad sigh escaped his intakes and his door wings drooped to the point they almost folded against his back. He tipped his helm skyward as he uttered a silent prayer hoping that no harm would come to their sparkling until they could locate and rescue him.

**Nemesis ….**

He couldn't help but be more than pleased with himself when he and his Decepticon warriors returned to the husk of the Nemesis. Megatron wasted no time in transforming into bipedal mode and landing upon the age worn deck plates with a clunk, he strode across to Skywarp and tapped upon the glass of the Raptor's cockpit none too gently. The Decepticon leader was clearly aware of Starscream watching his every move as he plucked the groggy infant out of the cockpit with his long taloned fingers. The sparkling squeaked when the coldness of space caressed his delicate plating, he instantly began whimpering in distress when he couldn't find a source of heat to curl up against. Sneering in disgust, Megatron placed him in the crook of his left elbow and instantly the little grey mechlet's whimpers ceased and his trembling stopped, he heard a snicker behind him that he knew had come from only one mechanoid. He shot Starscream a dark glare over his shoulder before making his way through the dark interconnecting corridors, whilst ignoring the soft coos and warbles the sparkling was making and how he had snuggled into warm silver plates.

The Decepticon leader did not like sparklings in the slightest, they were noisy, messy and temperamental, he smirked in fact that sounded a lot like a certain second in command of his minus the messy part, that was more Skywarp. The large silver mech input the code to the chamber and the doors squeaked making the infant jump before they rolled open. The large triangular metal artefact was stood upon its podium, seemingly lifeless until the 'eyes' glowed crimson. Megatron knelt down upon one knee, his head bowed as he presented the clicking sparkling to the creature inside the tablet.

"Our mission was a success Master." The Decepticon leader uttered.

"_Yes I can see that, and I can sense it now, the Allspark shard that survived was absorbed by this infant."_ The creature said as he inspected the sparkling from inside his inter-dimmensional prison, his gaze lingering upon the glowing runes curving over the infant's forearms _"its powers are weak and pathetic, but when the machine is located they will return to full strength and then the Allspark's restored powers can release me from this wretched prison."_

"And the map?" Megatron inquired as he reluctantly tucked the squirming and whimpering sparkling in the crook of his left elbow again. The little grey mechlet grunted and tried to pull himself up into a sitting position, the Decepticon leader growled lowly at the infant hoping to stop him from squirming only to be twittered at in return.

The creature chuckled at the defiance showed by the sparkling, he certainly showed no fear when it came to his disciple_"The infant has the power to unlock it and then the machine's location will be revealed to us, but first the status of our army and of our new ship?" _

"More than three quarters of the way completed master." The large silver mech responded.

"_Good return to me when we are ready to mobilise." _The being instructed before retreating into the depths of his prison. Megatron pushed himself upright ignoring the distressed whimpers from the infant as he strode out of the inner sanctum. He knew there was only one mechanoid who would give the sparkling a sympathetic audio, and as much as he loathed the irritating flier; Starscream would ensure that the infant was comfortable and dare he say it, happy whilst he spent his last few days of his pitiful existence with them.

_**A/N:** lol looksey no evil cliffhanger this time. I have to admit that was pretty dam evil of me *sniggers*, and the transwarp gate* is kinda like the one used in Transformers Armada. I've also just realised I wrote a slight bit of JazzxBarricade in this fic o.o *runs away from Prowl*. And I'm gonna focus on getting a couple of one shots posted, but I won't leave the update of the next chapter too long._


	19. Difficult Times

_I wanna thank everyone who reviewed the last chapter, put this story on their alert lists and added it to their favourites, you're all awesome! Anyway here's the next chapter! Sorry its late, real life has been such a pain in the skid-plate, and has been sucking away my creativity as of late. _

_**Warnings:** Use of profanities, slight bit of fluff, vast amount of angst_

_**Disclaimer**: Not mine, I just toy with with them and hand them back in less than pristine condition._

_'Blah' – thoughts_

_::Blah:: - Radio Communication_

_:/blah\: - Inter. comm._

_::/Blah\\:: Bond communication_

"_Blah" - Inter-dimmensional speech_

It had been a tense few days, Barricade mused as he made his way through the interconnecting corridors of the Diego Garcia base. Despite repairs being well under way with both the Autobots and the humans chipping in to get them done, new tensions were rising as whispered rumours of an infiltrator floated around the base. After all this wouldn't be the first time they had to deal with spies being amongst their numbers. The shock trooper knew that many of the rumours blamed him for leading the Decepticons to them, but he simply shrugged them off as he knew he was incapable of sending out a long range communiqué. After all the Autobots had seen to it that all of communications baring his short range had been disabled the moment he had fallen into their hands. That and he was hardly suicidal enough to call the back stabbing glitches only to get slagged in return for his efforts. Besides he had sworn an oath to protect and he couldn't very well turn his back on it despite what history he had with the Autobots, although he had failed in protecting the precious little grey bundle of moving parts. However he hadn't been the only one; the infants own parents had failed in their duties to protect him from harm, and they were paying for it. The Mustang vented a deep breath of air out of his intakes, he had never seen Jazz so down right livid before, not even when he had been captured by the Decepticons. Well except maybe that one time when Motormaster had pinned down one of the saboteur's field agents and torn him apart mercilessly, Barricade knew from the reports that had come back that the Stunticon unit leader had been found dissembled messily with one silver Autobot covered from helm to foot in the mech's fluids. So the shock trooper had strayed away from the thought of riling up the Autobots 3IC as he quite liked to keep his internals internal. The Mustang understood that the Autobots planned to keep Jazz in the isolation room in the med-bay in order to prevent any kind of escape, however the black and white knew that it wouldn't hold the saboteur for long.

Barricade was drawn out of his thoughts when he rounded the corner and spotted the door to his brother's office. It had become Prowl's permanent residence the past few days despite Optimus' insistence that he be removed from active duty, and Ratchet's orders that he rest and recuperate from his injuries. But the shock trooper knew his little brother had a stubborn streak the size of Unicron and the tactician would refuse to leave his post until he had come up with a suitable strategy or energy deprivation prevented him from carrying out his duties. Which left the Mustang with the conundrum of how he was going to get the Dodge Charger to leave his office to speak to his bonded and hopefully settle his differences with the mech, the black and white knew he could simply drag his sibling out by his door wings. But then there was the issue of Prowl's own volatile temper, he had only seen it a few times when the tactician had been in his sparkling and youngling years, and even back then it had been enough for both him and Smokescreen to retreat and wait for him to calm down enough to be reasoned with. Barricade was drawn out of his thoughts as he approached the doors and palmed the pad, he waited for a response and when none came, he hacked through the lock and entered the room in time to see a data-slate met an untimely end after it met the wall with enough force to shatter it.

"Any particular reason you felt that one was required to meet an untimely end?" The shock trooper inquired as he glanced at his brother, he could see that the Dodge Charger's entire frame was tense and a snarl was just beginning to form upon those normally calm and collected facial plates.

"Slag off Barricade I don't need your sarcasm right now." Prowl replied as he stalked back to his desk, door wings trembling in their sharp upright 'V' position "in fact why are you even here?"

"Other to make sure my little brother hasn't deactivated himself from drowning himself in his work … your leader sent me to collect you." The Mustang told him as he watched his sibling pace back and forth, grip tightening upon the data-pad he held in his hands.

"Optimus would have commed me if he required my presence." The tactician said as he furiously typed upon the data-pad he was holding.

"He could have but he knew you would ignore his request." Barricade replied as he watched a small snarl beginning to form upon the other black and white's facial plates.

"Request for what?" The Dodge Charger snapped then he scowled when he fully realised the ex-Decepticon was on his own "and where is your escort?"

"Prime felt it was unnecessary to give me one, although that attack dog of his certainly had a few words to say about it." The shock trooper told him "and he wants you to report to the med-bay stat … your bonded is finally on-line and you two need to talk."

Prowl stopped in his pacing and his grip tightened marginally upon the pad he was holding, his door wings gave a faint flicker as those words sunk in; Jazz was finally on-line and no doubt asking for him. Normally he would have been sat beside his bonded whilst he recuperated, but after everything that had occurred recently, the tactician felt he needed to remain apart from the saboteur in order to give both of them the breathing space. That and he felt he needed to work out a valid and sound plan so he could rescue their son, but so far the scenarios he was coming up with had little to no success rates which were only fuelling his own bad temper. And now he was faced with the issue of having to talk to Jazz now that the Solstice was back on-line, he knew that it was very likely to end in an argument and the pair of them possibly drifting further apart. But he knew he would have to confront his bonded sooner or later so he decided that maybe now was that time. The Dodge Charger visibly deflated and vented a heavy sigh out of his intakes before he moved across to his desk and slid the pad onto the surface, his azure gaze flickered up to glance at his older brother.

"So you're going to come quietly?" The Mustang inquired.

"Considering what the alternative is." Prowl replied "although I don't see talking our problems out is going to help, Jazz can be … stubborn."

_'He isn't the only one.' _Barricade thought as he watched his brother cross the room and stand in front of the doors, the shock trooper only moved when the tactician palmed the pad on the wall and the doors whooshed open. The two brothers stepped out of the office and began making their way down to the med-bay, along the way the Mustang couldn't help but be amused by how the humans seemed to be giving him a wide berth whilst ignoring the look of disapproval he got from his little brother. Silence continued to pass between the pair as they moved through the interconnecting corridors and Barricade noticed how dubious his brother was becoming about this upcoming confrontation he was going to have with his bonded. Under normal circumstances he would encourage the anarchy, but he had renounced his allegiance to the Decepticons so his goal now was to ensure that the pair didn't kill one another before they could get their son back. When they finally reached the doors to the med-bay they could hear raised voices, the shock trooper vented a sigh whilst Prowl took a step backwards.

"Nuh uh you made it this far, there's no turning back now." The older black and white told his sibling, he roughly gripped the tactician's right upper arm and pulled him into the repair bay once the doors had opened. He dragged his reluctant brother over to the isolation room where the voices were coming from "I'm away for five fraggin' minutes and everything gets screwed up royally."

The Dodge Charger hesitantly followed after his older brother, although he didn't have much choice in the matter since Barricade was pretty much dragging him. He knew even with the bond sealed off on Jazz's end that his mate was incredibly angry, and if the saboteur's temper had been sparked then there was no way he was going to be able to talk to him. The tactician vented a sigh out of his intakes, there was no backing out now as the shock trooper input the code into the pad on the wall and the doors whooshed open. Almost immediately the argument that had been happening stopped and the Dodge Charger felt everyone's gaze fall upon him including the clearly irate form of his spark-mate. He briefly met Jazz's gaze before he glanced away to meet the gazes of his commander, Ironhide and Ratchet.

"I brought him just like you asked, conscious and still in one piece." The Mustang said, he directed that last part at the weapons specialist who was glaring at him.

"Thank you Barricade." Optimus replied as he glanced from his second to third in command, he immediately could see the tension emanating from their frames and wondered whether he had made the right decision about bringing Prowl down here. But the Prime knew that he needed the pair of them to work out their differences and find trust in one another so they could find their son, after all there were no two mechs who could work better than Prowl and Jazz when it came to a difficult decision or situation.

"Sir could I have a moment to talk to Jazz please?" The tactician requested.

"Of course." The semi Peter-built responded before he gestured to the others to leave, he made his way to the doorway and glanced back to see the Dodge Charger and Solstice holding one another's gaze before he finally stepped out of the room.

The pair of them stood in relative silence, neither one of them prepared to break the tension that was undoubtedly building between them. Prowl wished for a second that the bond wasn't being being blocked so he could gage his spark-mate's mood and emotions, but as it was he had no choice but to tread carefully.

"Jazz we need to talk." Prowl said finally.

"Dam right we do." The saboteur responded, normally melodious voice stern "what the hell were you thinkin! I had every right ta know about Blue, I mean I had my suspicions that somethin' wasn't quite right when I saw those markin's on him but I didn't expect anythin' like this."

"Jazz I …." The tactician began, his door wings drooping upon his back. He had no explanation of why he had hid this from his bonded except that he simply wanted to protect them.

"No let me finish." The Solstice snapped at him, cutting him off. The silver mech's entire frame was tense with clawed hands coiled into fists, and his azure optics were bright with anger "ya had no right ta keep that from me, one of the vows we took when we bonded was ta trust one another and to never keep secrets from each other."

The Dodge Charger bristled at that and his door wings rose up into a sharp 'V' "Funny how you speak of trust, you yourself have been hiding things from me." The black and white mech took a step forward, single clawed finger pointing accusingly at his spark-mate "you promised that night you wouldn't go down to the cells, but you went anyway and allowed a blood pact between you and Barricade to form but more importantly with our son as well."

"Fer your information I didn't so much as let him." Jazz replied sharply.

"But you willingly put your life and our son's in his hands despite the fact he could turn back to being a Decepticon at any given moment." Prowl argued.

The saboteur glowered at his bond-mate "The one thing I know about you Praxians is that ya take an oath very seriously, I knew he would never have made it if he couldn't commit to it, and he saved ma life a few times over."

"There you go making assumptions and not thinking things through rationally." The Dodge Charger snapped, his door wings quivering in their rigid upright position

"I'm not you Prowl, I don't make assumptions on fact I make them on gut instinct, and I knew fer a fact that 'Cade wouldn't do anything that would jeopardise Blue's life." The Solstice replied sharply, his clawed hands flexing. He was slowly reaching the end of his tether and knew his bonded was too.

"You seem to have put a lot of trust in him Jazz." Prowl growled as he stopped his pacing to confront his bonded fully.

"At least he didn't betray my trust." The silver mech snapped "but we're goin' off track I still wanna know why ya hid that information from me." Jazz glowered at his mate, right this instant he simply felt betrayed and that fuelled by the feeling of loss was only causing his temper to spiral out of control. He knew they were meant to sort out their differences, however he was finding that incredibly hard when his spark-mate was simply dodging around the topic.

"To protect you." The tactician responded sharply "that is my duty as your bond-mate." _'Although it seems I can't even get that duty right.'_ He wanted to add but didn't.

"Protect me? Protect me from what?" Jazz demanded as he swayed slightly on his feet, he quickly gripped the edge of the berth when he felt a wave of dizziness grip him. A medical alert suddenly cropped up on the monitor at the head of the berth and the saboteur knew it was registering the stress to his systems, but he pushed the concern for his health aside as right now he wanted answers.

"Jazz?" The Dodge Charger inquired with concern lacing the tone of his voice, he took a step forward but it seemed the saboteur refused to be coddled by him and struck out at him with a flash of anger across their bond. The black and white stumbled slightly from the intensity, he was surprised that the Solstice could hold so much rage against him but as he probed a little deeper into the slightly open bond, he realised it wasn't all aimed at him. Jazz was angry more at himself for not being capable enough to keep their sparkling from harm, and everyone else particularly the Decepticons who had taken their son from them.

"Well thank Primus for small favours that you haven't slagged each other yet." Came Ratchet's voice as the CMO entered the room, no doubt alerted by the medical alarm. He strode immediately over to Jazz's side and checked the saboteur over, the Solstice had finally collapsed against the berth the strain upon his systems finally becoming too much for him.

"Ratchet?" Prowl asked, his door wings drooping slightly in concern. By Primus he had been angry at Jazz earlier, but now he was concerned that there was something further wrong with his bonded.

"He's fine Prowl, but I'm gonna have to ask you to leave." The medic told him as he glanced at the tactician before he transferred his gaze back to his patient.

The Dodge Charger let out a heavy sigh from his intakes before trudging reluctantly out of the isolation room, his gaze briefly met that of Optimus', Ironhide's and Barricade's before he glanced away and made his way quickly out of the med-bay, missing the looks of concern from the others especially from his older brother. The black and white mech moved quickly through the corridors determined to reach his office before he lost complete control over his emotions, his pace quickened when he spotted the doors to his office.

Prowl stalked into his office, his entire presence foreboding. The doors whooshed close behind him and the sound was enough to make him finally lose his well known infinite amount of control, his desk was the first to suffer his pain and anger as he viciously kicked it then he tossed it aside, scattering the precariously balanced data-pads and slates across the floor before he directed his rage at one of the walls. He clenched his right fist and slammed it into the wall, suddenly finding something else to take out his frustration and anger on. The tactician punched and kicked the wall he had initially attacked until it finally groaned ominously under the last punch he had aimed at it. The Dodge Charger then felt all strength drain from his frame and he collapsed down onto his knees with his chevron resting against the cold wall, he drew in a shuddering intake of air before he finally let it out in a sob. It didn't take much after that before the first tears fell and he collapsed against the wall, pained sobs leaving his vocaliser.

"Prowl?" Barricade inquired as he rushed into the room, he had heard the commotion and rushed to his brother's aid. But now he realised that the tactician had finally reached the end of his tether and lost control of his emotions, and now he was knelt next to the wall, knuckles a bloody mess whilst sobs escaped the other black and white frame. The shock trooper locked the doors and made his way over, he knelt down next to his little brother and gathered his trembling form to him. Prowl immediately latched onto him like a distressed sparkling would do to its creator and let his feelings of grief and loss consume him. The Mustang pulled him closely although initially he felt awkward as this kind of gesture was something he had not done in a long time, but right now his brother needed someone who would not judge him for his mistakes and would remain by his side until he had either passed out or managed to regain his control. Which ever it was Barricade was willing to wait, no matter how long it took.

**A few days later …. **

The full staff meeting that occurred every week had to be the least favourite of those who had to attend, but particularly more so this one Optimus mused as he glanced around the room. They had gathered to discuss the status of the current repairs, the possible outcome of the humans decision in Washington; Galloway had about keeled over from a heart attack when he discovered that one of their most top secret bases in the world had been attacked by the Decepticons, he had flown back to the United States almost immediately to report back to the President, after he was done chewing Optimus and General Morshower out first about their incompetence. And then there was the delicate issue of Bluestreak's kidnapping, the Prime so desperately wanted to have the sparkling back amongst them, but they had no idea where the Decepticons had taken him, and even if they did they were vastly outnumbered regardless of the fact they had the humans putting their lives on the line to help them. The semi Peter-built couldn't help the heavy sigh that escaped his intakes as he listened to each of the department heads give him a status updates of their teams, and what resources they required before they were able to fully function again. Optimus took note that his third in command although on light duty, seemed to be neglecting his duties as Mirage rather than Jazz had delivered the update of the special ops team, he understood that the saboteur required time to grieve for his loss despite the fact Bluestreak was still very much alive, but he needed him back at his post.

His gaze briefly wandered to his second in command sat beside him on his left side, the situation was also having a profound impact upon his tactician as well as the mech had been rarely seen outside of his office these past few days. It took both himself and Ratchet to convince Prowl to leave the confines of the room just to refuel and recharge, although he suspected the black and white recharged, what little he got of it anyway, in his office since the relationship between him and his bonded still hadn't improved. The Prime vented a sigh out of his intakes, things just couldn't become more complicated than they already were. He pulled himself upright when the humans chief medical officer sat down after delivering his report about the supplies they required, and the status of those that had been injured in the fighting a few days prior.

"Alright now that's all out of the way, I believe we need to address the situation of our missing comrade." Optimus spoke up, he didn't want to sound so detached by saying comrade instead of sparkling, but he couldn't afford to allow his emotions toward the infant cloud his judgement "does anyone have ideas on how we should proceed." Each of the humans and the Autobots glanced at one another, the tactical unit immediately shook their heads before the Prime settled his gaze upon his 2IC "Prowl?"

"None sir." The Dodge Charger replied, his gaze never leaving the small pile of data-pads and slates sat in front of him.

The semi Peter-built vented a small sigh, that was not like his military strategist in the slightest. The mech always had an sound tactical or strategical plan for any conundrum they faced, he was even well known to have back-up plans in case the main offence or defence didn't work out as required. But for Prowl not to have a plan as to how to rescue his son surprised him completely, he thought that the infant's retrieval would be the first thing on the tactician's list, unless every scenario and strategy to counter it that he came up with were either below the success rate or involved casualties that they couldn't afford.

"Might I suggest something since everyone else is currently twiddling their thumbs." Barricade spoke up from where he was currently stood leaning against the wall, his arms folded across his chest.

"Anything." Optimus replied as he glanced at the shock trooper.

The Mustang glanced up and met the Autobot leader's azure gaze with his crimson ones before he pushed away from the wall "Why don't you use the sensors on board the Ark to locate any and all Decepticon energy signatures that might be close by, or better yet extend their range to scan the entire solar system."

"It could work, if we can isolate their position we may be able to devise a plan in order to divert their attention and attack them once their numbers have been dwindled." Prowl added finally glancing up and meeting his commander's gaze "we could also use any encoded comm. frequencies or otherwise that you can provide us to see if we can try and determine exactly what they have planned." Barricade scanned the room noting how all eyes and optics were on him before he nodded in agreement.

"Alright its a starting point, Prowl take Barricade, Wheeljack and Sideswipe with you." Optimus said, a barely interpretable smile tugging at his lip components. Finally some progress despite how minute it was, was being made "you're to leave immediately, I want you however to keep in regular contact so we can begin devising our own plans should we need require them if Megatron returns to Earth."

"Yes sir." The tactician responded before he nodded to each member of his team. The Dodge Charger pushed himself up out of his seat picking up the data-pads and slates before making his way over to the doorway with Barricade, Wheeljack and Sideswipe close behind him.

"And Prowl." The Prime called out, his 2IC turned to glance at him a look of inquiry upon his facial plates "good luck." The tactician dipped his head before finally stepping out of the room.

Prowl vented a deep sigh out of his intakes the moment the briefing room doors whooshed before he began making his way toward his office, he felt guilty that he hadn't been able to devise an adequate strategy to retrieve his son from the Decepticons. After all it was his duty to be constantly one step ahead of the enemy and have a contingency plan in place just in case their primary failed. But he had been heavily distracted by the feeling of loss of both his child and his bond-mate, he flinched slightly at that as he still hadn't settled the dispute between him and Jazz. Although he knew the saboteur was quite capable of swallowing his pride in order to apologise to him, however he knew that was unlikely to happen whilst there was still tension between them. The tactician had settled to give his spark-mate the space he needed to think things through before they could talk out their problems in a civilised manner rather than shouting at one another.

The Dodge Charger reached his office and input the code into the pad, the doors whooshed open and he stepped inside. He quickly set the data-pads and slates upon his desk before quickly inspecting the new pile sat awaiting his attention, they were all of a low priority so he could look at them the moment he got back. The black and white mech abruptly turned and left the room before making his way down the hallway, he made his way through the interconnecting corridors that would take him to the residential section as he needed to grab a few things from his quarters. Prowl's footsteps faltered for a brief few seconds, he had not stepped inside his quarters for over a week now as he had chosen to remain locked up in his office pouring all of his energy over every report that ended up on his desk, and expending his efforts on trying to create a flawless plan that currently alluded him. He knew Jazz would have something to say about that, but the tactician neither had the energy nor the patience to deal with his bonded right now. The Dodge Charger couldn't help the sudden anger he felt toward the saboteur since the 3IC had practically brushed all of his duties and responsibility aside, and despite the fact that their son was missing, the Solstice had an obligation to his faction to keep going. However he shared his mate's sense of grief and loss, although he knew Jazz was more greatly affected by Bluestreak's absence since his bonded shared a deeper connection with the sparkling.

Prowl finally reached his quarters and was suddenly feeling hesitant about entering, however he quickly shoved those thoughts aside as he entered the code before stepping into the room. His azure gaze scanned the room critically before he made his way inside, the lights had been set on a dim level which was nothing unusual but the seemingly unnatural silence was. The tactician made his way across the living space and peered inside of Bluestreak's room, his gaze fell immediately upon the empty crib and he felt his spark clench painfully inside of his chest. His door wings drooped until they were almost flat against his back, he stepped into the room and made his way over to the crib. The Dodge Charger reached out and lightly traced clawed fingers over the soft blanket that was draped over the front bar, he felt his intakes hitch, but he quickly pushed those emotions aside as he drew in a deep intake of air to quell them as he needed to remain strong in order to focus upon the tasks at hand. Prowl vented a sigh before turning around and made his way out of the room, he quickly grabbed the few assortment of items he required before he began making his way out of his quarters. However his footsteps faltered and his hand hovered above the door pad, he glanced over his shoulder to where the doorway to his berth room was, his door wings drooped when his spark called out to his other half that he happened to know was in that very same room his gaze was settled upon.

The tactician turned and made his way across the living space before stepping inside the dimly lit room, his gaze immediately fell upon the silver back of his bonded whom was lying curled up on his side facing away from him. The Dodge Charger quietly crossed the room and knelt upon the empty side of the berth, he felt his spark plummet when he noticed that Jazz was clutching one of their sparkling's blankets close to his chest plates. He wished that they had brushed aside their differences a few days ago and were sharing this sense of loss together, but as usual their stubbornness won out and here they were separated by such a small distance that seemed light years apart. Prowl reached across sliding his arms around his bonded's slightly chilled frame and pressed himself close, he tucked his helm into his spark-mate's neck and held him close.

"We'll get him back Jazz I promised you that love." The tactician whispered into one of the saboteur's audios, he planted a soft kiss upon his mate's left cheek before moving and stepping out of the room. He was completely unaware as he left his quarters of the Solstice on-lining from recharge and gently touching the cheek that he had kissed, as well as the soft whisper of his designation as it fell from Jazz's lip components.

The Dodge Charger made his way through the interconnecting corridors before he finally reached the blast doors that sealed off the transwarp gate from the rest of the base, most of the debris had been removed and the repairs nearly completed after this section was almost destroyed during Blitzwing's rampage. He input the code and the air tight seal hissed as it gave way before the heavy duty door opened with a squeak on its hinges, Prowl proceeded on through and down the last few hallways before he finally reached the gate room. His gaze immediately fell upon the backs of Wheeljack and Sideswipe, both of whom were giving Barricade a wide berth. The shock trooper didn't appear to be bothered by the behaviour the two Autobots were exhibiting and the tactician didn't expect any less from either one of them, after all the Mustang had been their enemy a little of three weeks ago.

"Are we ready to leave?" The Dodge Charger inquired as he glanced around the group before he gaze fell upon the open gate "let's move out." Prowl made his way to the bubble that was currently showing the inside of one of the Ark's cargo holds, he stepped through the portal closely followed by his comrades and the ex-Decepticon. The journey took less than a few seconds for them to pass through so it wasn't long before the four of them were stood in the cold and dimly lit cargo hold of the Ark, although the on board sensors quickly detected their presence and immediately the systems began powering up as the transport ship came out of its dormant state.

"Wheeljack take Sideswipe, I want you to do an inventory on the Ark's systems." Prowl ordered.

The red Lamborghini glanced from the engineer to the 2IC "Wait where are you going?"

"Barricade and I are heading to the bridge, we need to start checking the sensor logs and the communications array if we are to have any luck in locating the Decepticons." The tactician responded as he made his way to the cargo bay doors and palmed the pad on the wall.

"Are you nuts?" The front-liner demanded as he stalked after his superior officer whilst ignoring the smirk of amusement upon the shock trooper's facial plates "your going alone with that fragger?"

"You have your orders Sideswipe." The Dodge Charger told him "Barricade!"

The Mustang trotted after his younger sibling, he cast a glance at the red Lamborghini only to be glared and snarled at in return before he stepped through the doors. The interconnecting corridors reminded him of the bases back on Cybertron, they were perfectly uniform however the one thing he wasn't going to be able to get use to was the gold rust colour that the walls, floors and ceilings had been painted in. He had to give them credit however, after all it was much better than stark grey and silver. After making their way up through several levels they finally reached the doors that lead onto the bridge, although Barricade happened to notice that these doors didn't open straight away. He watched as his brother stepped across to the pad and typed in a code he heard but didn't see before the doors whooshed open to reveal the nerve centre of the large transport ship. The lights like the rest of the Ark came on once they stepped onto the command deck, the view screen at the front turning from a stalk grey to a view of the Earth's moon.

"Communications is here." Prowl gestured to the console just to his right on the upper level "and sensors are over there." He pointed in the direction of another console although above it was a transparent screen "take your pick."

"Communications." Barricade responded as he made his way over and brushed his clawed fingertips over the touch screen glass of the console "I may not be Soundwave, but I at least know what to look for." The shock trooper slid into the chair and accessed the communications logs before he began typing in the encoded frequencies of his former comrades. The tactician watched him for a moment before crossing the command deck and sitting himself at the other console. For a long time the pair of them worked with no words passing between them, just the soft humming of the Arks systems and the gentle tapping of fingers upon the console.

"I'm sorry." Barricade said, finally breaking the silence that had fallen between them on the bridge.

Prowl glanced over his shoulder to where communications was with a frown upon his facial plates "For what?"

"For everything." The shock trooper replied without glancing up from the task he was currently performing, his clawed fingers dancing across the top of the console he was sat at.

"I don't …." The tactician began to ask still somewhat confused.

The Mustang finally glanced up, meeting his little brother's gaze "I made a mistake." He saw a curious look appear upon his younger sibling's facial plates "if I hadn't been so stubborn in my ways, I could have told you what the Decepticons were planning."

"You knew that they were going to come for Bluestreak?" The Dodge Charger demanded, door wings rising upwards upon his back.

"No I only knew of their plans to terminate him, Megatron was an unknown factor in all of this although I did know that they had the intention to revive him." Barricade replied as he scanned through the comm. frequencies again checking for any familiar signals.

Prowl scowled "You knew about that and you didn't tell us?"

"No-one asked." The shock trooper responded without looking up "as I said I made a mistake."

The tactician vented a frustrated sigh out of his intakes, it seemed everyone was keeping Intel. to themselves instead of sharing it. Intel. in particular that could have been used to predict the enemy's next manoeuvre or plan of attack "Alright do you know where they might have gone?"

"The Nemesis probably, well what remains of it anyway." The Mustang told him.

"Where was its last known location?" The Dodge Charger asked.

Barricade met his little brother's gaze once again "Would you believe me if I told you I have no idea."

"No." Prowl replied.

"Thought as much, and no I have no idea where it is all I know is that the back stabbing glitch better known as Starscream said it crash landed, where … well I leave that up to this transports sensors to find out." The shock trooper told him.

"Brilliant." The tactician uttered as he turned to face the console and holographic screen before him. It was going to be an exceptionally long day or days for all of them if they didn't turn up anything other than space dust or the Earth's radio signals soon.

**On board the Nemesis . . . .**

It was one sound he knew he would never get use to as Starscream on-lined from recharge, he grumbled lowly to himself as he un-shuttered his optics and glanced around the room. He was still in his office inside his lab. which meant he had fallen into recharge there whilst working on whatever grand scheme Megatron wanted to bring to fruition. The silver Raptor listened intently only to frown when he heard loud clicking and chirping from a sparkling who should have long been in recharge by now. Starscream pushed himself out of his chair, cursing silently to Primus as each of his limbs protested the movement of stretching then moved toward the doorway of his office. He glanced out into the dim room beyond to see one exuberant grey infant currently inside the makeshift cot, sat on his backside whilst baby blue optics glanced around the room. If there was one thing he could say about the sparkling was that the infant was naturally curious about anything, he would spend joors simply staring at something whilst clicking and whistling; a by-product no doubt of what he had inherited from one of his creators. And a flaw Starscream exploited as best as he could, especially when the little grey infant began whining for his progenitors, he found the best way to stop the sparkling from crying and saving him from a processor ache was to distract the infant with an object or a sound, and almost immediately the bitlet would focus his attention upon it instead. At first he had been wary about having to sparkling sit since he had all been for killing the bitlet outright before hand, but the more time he spent in the infant's presence, the more he began to warm up to the little grey bundle of moving parts.

The silver Raptor stalked over to the bench where he had set up the crib, he sneered when he spotted his trine mate Skywarp slumped against it deep in recharge. Starscream grumbled about unreliable mechs under his breath as his gaze scanned the infant critically finding the sparkling's energy levels were reading normal, so the infant wasn't awake because he required feeding just probably feeling a little restless. The silver Raptor turned his attention back to Skywarp and suddenly feeling somewhat wicked, he reached over with one clawed hand and clipped his trine-mate none to gently around the back of the helm. The purple Raptor on-lined instantly, colourful curses escaping his vocaliser before his crimson optics fell upon his unit leader, although he couldn't help but turn his attention to the infant who was giggling beside him for a few astro-seconds.

"What the frag was that for?" Skywarp demanded as he rubbed the back of his helm.

"I give you one slagging task to carry out and you spend most of it in recharge." Starscream snarled back at him, although he couldn't help but be amused at hearing the sparkling laughing simply because he had clipped his subordinate around the back of the helm.

"I wasn't rechargin' Screamer ... just restin' my optics." The purple Raptor responded. However the silver mech simply scowled at him not believing the bull slag coming from his trine-mate's vocaliser, he reached round to wrap his clawed fingers around the back of Skywarp's neck grasping the small scruff bar and hauling his comrade up onto his feet "what the frag?"

"I require mechs that actually prove useful to me not .. sleep on the job." Starscream growled as he dragged the purple Raptor across his lab before punching the pad on the wall, he tossed Skywarp out on his aft the moment the doors whooshed open. The silver Raptor grumbled under his breath as he punched the pad on the wall again the moment the doors had closed locking them in order to prevent any unwanted nuisances. Starscream vented a heavy sigh out of his intakes before his crimson optics fell upon the small grey bundle of delicate parts, the little grey mechlet was currently staring at him whilst his stubby back appendages waved back and forth. The large silver mech was half tempted to go back to his office and continue working. but when he saw the sparkling hold both arms up and begin making grabbing motions with his diminutive hands, Starscream found himself making his way over to the bench and plucking the tiny infant out of the make shift crib. The sparkling immediately curled into warm plating whilst clicks and coos continued to emit from his vocaliser, the Raptor snorted at how trustworthy the infant was as he reached back into the crib for the bronze map device. He noticed forlornly that the sparkling still hadn't activated it and knew it wouldn't be long before he had Megatron breathing down his neck, but Starscream was hardly concerned about the Decepticon leader.

"You are simply too trustworthy bitlet." Starscream told the infant as he proceeded back to his office and stepped inside, he made his way over to his chair and sat down whilst cradling the sparkling close to his chassis. It was a feeling he couldn't describe as he held the small life close, it was one of those moments he knew he would never be able to experience again. After all Megatron was determined to wipe out the infant population he had worked so hard to bring into being, just so he could feed the little energy resources they had to a creature they knew nothing about. Starscream had done as much research as he could into the strange tablet, but so far he hadn't turned up anything which only added to his suspicions. Had someone purposely wiped out all information upon the creature their own leader had been serving since the artefact had been discovered at one of the excavation sites? And why? Either way the silver Raptor knew he wasn't going to get his answers here so instead he turned his attention to the sparkling in his arms, he reached across to the map device and presented it to the infant, giving it a small shake. But the little grey mechlet sat in his lap was far more interested in him than the device much to Starscream's frustration.

"You know your supposed to unlock that before the glitched fragging idiot comes down here and takes my head off." The silver Raptor told the infant, the sparkling simply warbled a response at him before he began patting broad silver chest plates, Starscream couldn't help the small smile tugging at his lip components as he listened to the whistles, clicks and coos escaping the little one's vocaliser whilst the stubby sensory panels fluttered upon his back "inquisitive and noisy, now I wonder which of your creators you take after?" He poked the infant gently in the belly with a single clawed finger earning him a fit of giggles. Starscream knew that he shouldn't get attached to the sparkling since the little one didn't have the much time left in this world, but the protective instinct that had been pre-programmed into him wasn't exactly helping matters as it insisted that he protect it with his spark regardless of the outcome. But the silver Raptor had his own ambitions which didn't involve getting himself terminated in any way possible, it was just a pity that the bitlet had to perish for them to come into fruition.

Starscream glanced down when he felt the infant jolt in his lap and frowned slightly when the sparkling did the same motion again along with a small noise this time, he quickly cross referenced his knowledge of sparklings with the functioning data-bases only to realise that the bitlet simply had hiccups. He almost vented a sigh of relief as he didn't particularly fancy taking a trip down to the repair bay and receiving an audio full from Hook, he reached around the infant's back and began stroking the delicate back plating in order to relieve the nuisance. The sparkling purred at the sensation only for it to be interrupted by a hiccup, irritated by this the infant began twittering and Starscream could only chuckle in amusement as the bitlet began telling him off for not doing anything about them.

"I'm doing my best to alleviate them." The silver Raptor told the infant as he watched the stubby sensory panels rise up into a sharp 'V' formation. He knew Praxians and Vosians were closely related and shared similar attributes, besides the fact one of them was airborne whilst the other was ground bound. But he never had the chance to study one of his long distance cousins properly, although he knew unfortunately that the sparkling's Praxian genetic code had been polluted by the Autobot saboteur's 'genes', however he was still a fine example that natural conception could take place without relying upon the Allspark or other degrading means. Starscream was drawn out of his thoughts when he heard the doors to his lab whoosh open and groaned inwardly, he knew there were only a few mechs on this ship that could break the unlocking code, and he seriously hoped that the pit fragging idiot aka Megatron wasn't coming down just to tear his head off for his so called 'incompetence'. The silver Raptor pushed himself out of his chair and quickly made his way out of his office, he moved across the room and deposited the sparkling in the makeshift crib much to the protest of the infant. Starscream peered over his shoulder as the doors whooshed open before they narrowed as they settled upon the violet form of Shockwave, the military commander made his way over singular crimson optic focused upon the sparkling before it switched to the aerial commander.

"Megatron requires an update upon the map's status." Shockwave told him.

"Still non-functional." The silver Raptor responded with a glower, he felt his spark give a small tug of concern when he heard the infant emit terrified whimpers "in order for it to work, a bond of trust must first be established."

The Apache Helicopter scrutinised the sparkling closely, noticing how it seemed to huddle against the wall closest to Starscream "You've had the allotted time to acquaint yourself with the Autobot sparkling, now results are required."

"And our esteemed leader will get them whether within the next hour or the next day." Starscream snarled, the whimpers from the bitlet were becoming more distressed by the second and the silver Raptor simply wanted to reassure him "apparently the Allspark surges that our sensors detected cannot be created on a whim so slag off and let me continue with my work in order to get those 'results'."

Shockwave didn't honour him with an answer and simply turned to leave, the military commander spared a single look over his shoulder to see the aerial commander reach inside of the makeshift crib and smooth a clawed hand over the sparkling's helm in a reassuring manner, a gesture that was rather uncharacteristic of Starscream. He would report these new findings to Megatron, after all they could not afford to have the silver Raptor disrupt the plans for the infant already set in place.

_**A/N: **Couldn't resist some fluff between Starscream and Bluestreak, and is it a sign of what's also to come? Well you'll just have to find out. And I know your probably thinking that Prowl and Jazz should just kiss and make up, but I like to make things interesting and problematic for our bots *runs and hides* Next chapter coming up: Revelations._

_Read & Review!_


	20. Strange Occurrences

_I wanna thank everyone who reviewed the last chapter, put this story on their alert lists and added it to their favourites, you're all awesome especially when it comes to waiting for me to update this monster fic! Anyway here's the next chapter, apologies though its somewhat shorter than the others in length so its kind of a filler chapter before the action starts again._

_**Warnings:** Use of profanities, slight bit of fluff, vast amount of angst_

_**Disclaimer**: Not mine, I just toy with with them and hand them back in less than pristine condition._

_'Blah' – thoughts_

_::Blah:: - Radio Communication_

_:/blah\: - Inter. comm._

_::/Blah\\:: Bond communication_

"_Blah" - Inter-dimmensional speech_

The loud beeping of an alarm dragged a groggy Jazz out of recharge, the saboteur reached over and slapped the Earth mechanism to silence it before rolling over onto his back. Normally Cybertronians didn't require such devices since they all had internal chronometers, but it had been a gift and Prowl had stated that it was too easy for him to turn off his internal alarm and go back into recharge. Prowl, the Solstice groused as he scrubbed tired optics with the heels of his palms, he had been contemplating tracking down his bonded and apologising to him for his behaviour over a week ago, but the tactician was no where to be found on Diego Garcia and the silver mech knew he was likely to be aboard the Ark. Jazz pulled himself up into a sitting position, groaning as each of his limbs protested the movement, he knew that would teach him for falling asleep upon the couch rather than on his berth. The saboteur pushed himself up to stand only to regret the motion seconds later when his equilibrium circuits took a leave of absence on him, he shook off the dizzy feeling and made his way over to the energon dispenser and grabbed a mug of the glowing pink liquid. He sipped the warm energon as he scanned his living quarters, it felt so empty without the presence of his bond-mate and his child to occupy the space with him.

The Solstice drew in a shaky breath and his fingers began to tremble as his emotions attempted to take up precedence in his processor, however he quickly set them aside before he lost himself to the turmoil. He missed his son terribly and it felt as though his spark had been torn in two, the feeling had only gotten progressively worse since the bond between them had been stretched painfully thin. All he knew was that Bluestreak was alive and well but nothing more, a fact that didn't sit all that comfortably with Jazz, although every now and again he would feel small tugs upon his spark and he knew that Blue was trying to contact him for just a little comfort and reassurance. The saboteur sighed deeply as he drained about half of the mug's contents then placed it upon the small counter besides the dispenser, he would leave it there as he normally did then he would pick it up later in the evening and wash out the cold stale energon. The saboteur turned and was about to make his way over to the wash rack when he felt a searing pain grip his left horn, he gritted his denta and hissed at the burning sensation, it had been happening more frequently since he had traced the ancient glyphs on his son's back and after he had lost consciousness. But he felt somewhat reluctant to inform Ratchet about it as he suspected that if the medic discovered something was going on then he would keep it from him like he had done with Bluestreak's condition. However he was the only one who might know what was happening to him although the silver mech knew much of this had to do with being resurrected by the Allspark shard. After all one could not be brought back by a slither of the ancient and mysterious cube, and not be affected by it in some way.

Jazz ignored the wash rack in favour of swiftly heading to his berth room where he picked up the data-slate he had been using lately, the saboteur stepped back out of the room and made his way over to the small table in front of the couch. The Solstice set it down upon the surface before he knelt down upon the floor, he touched the screen activating it and drew up the file he had been recently working on, an image appeared moments later of a partially constructed galaxy swirl of Cybertronian glyphs. The silver mech used the small box in the corner to draw the next sequence of glyphs with the stylus before directing them up to where they should appear upon the growing swirl. In fact he was so preoccupied with what he was doing that he didn't hear either the chime nor the doors whooshing open to permit someone access to his quarters.

"There the frag you are." Ratchet snapped as he stalked inside and made his way over to Jazz's side, looking none too happy "I don't have the time to be slaggin' runnin' around after errant mechs that are late for their check ups."

"Sorry Ratch." The saboteur responded without so much as glancing up from what he was doing, nor did he move from his position.

"Well I'm here now." The medic said as he removed a portable scanner from sub-space and ran it over the silver frame, he frowned when he noticed the Solstice was showing heightened neural activity whilst his systems read that they were severely undercharged "well you're healthy and your injuries have almost healed considering these results show that you've neither been recharging or refuelling properly." Jazz didn't answer him as he continued to draw the next sequence of glyphs upon the data-slate, it was then that the chartreuse mech's attention was drawn to the screen and his frown deepened. Ratchet scanned the Cybertronian glyphs critically but he didn't recognise them in the slightest much to his surprise, although they did seem familiar in shape and form of the ones they had uncovered at the excavation sites before the war began. The CMO glanced at the saboteur to see a deep look of concentration upon his facial plates.

"Jazz what are these?" Ratchet inquired as he glanced at the screen again just as another tendril to the intricate swirl was completed.

"Spacial co-ordinates I think, the glyphs come in waves." The Solstice told him as he traced the glyphs with the index and middle fingers of his right hand.

"Co-ordinates for what? And you can read these?" The CMO asked as he returned his gaze to the silver mech, he met Jazz's azure gaze as the saboteur glanced up at him.

"Have no idea, and yes I can." The Solstice replied before he was suddenly getting to his feet "I need ta get to th' Ark's stellar cartography lab an' start cross referencin' it wit' planetary systems we've encountered."

"What for?" The medic inquired in confusion as he pushed himself up to stand fully upright before he followed the smaller mech out of the living quarters. The chartreuse mech had to admit that he was concerned for Jazz as he had never seen this kind of behaviour before, he was worried that the saboteur had finally stepped over the line since Bluestreak was still missing, and there had been no news in regards to his location or the Decepticons for that matter. Ratchet knew he would have to speak to Optimus about this, but first he was curious as to what the Solstice was up to and where these mysterious co-ordinates led too. The pair of them continued through the interconnecting corridors of the base until they reached the heavy blast door, a quick comm. from Red Alert demanded that they tell him what they were up to but Ratchet simply shut off the comm. link and followed Jazz into the dimly lit corridor beyond the blast door. The saboteur stepped into the gate room first and proceeded across to the console where he began tapping the keys, the humming of machinery powering up filled the room before there was a flash of light and sound as the portal that provided access to the Ark materialised into existence. The alarms alerting the rest of the base that an unscheduled transit was in motion, sounded before Ratchet felt someone pinging his comm. link.

_:/Ratchet here.\: _He responded.

_:/Ratchet care to explain to me why the transwarp gate is active and why internal sensors are detecting yours and Jazz's signals in the very same room?\: _Optimus demanded from the other end.

_:/Jazz and I are heading up to the Ark.\:_ The CMO told him as he watched the Solstice make his way over to the active gate, clearly not interested in waiting for permission to head on through _:/right now I don't have much time to explain in terms of answers but I will explain everything once we get back.\:_

There was a moment of silence from the other end of the comm. Link _:/Very well proceed on through.\:_

It seemed Jazz hadn't waited for Optimus to give the go ahead as he was already slipping though the gate, the medic quickly made his way over to the gate before he also stepped through it and onto the Ark. The chartreuse mech followed the saboteur through the interconnecting corridors, feeling the familiar sensations of the ship's systems beneath his feet. He had to admit that he missed it even though it had been just a little over a quarter of a vorn since he and the others had departed the Ark, and had headed down to Earth in search of the Allspark, although he was aware that it had been much longer for the others. Finally they reached stellar cartography and the pair stepped inside the room once the Solstice had deactivated the locking mechanism, the silver mech removed the data-slate he had been working on from his sub-space, and pulled out the data-cable from the side before plugging it into one of the few slots on the console. The large holographic screen flared to life as Jazz began accessing the numerous star charts they had catalogued to compare to the one on the data-slate. However it wasn't long before Ratchet felt someone pinging his comm. link once again, the CMO began to wonder whether the saboteur had purposely turned his off so he couldn't receive any calls.

The medic vented a heavy sigh before he accessed it _:/Ratchet here.\:_

_:/Ratchet would you care to explain why the Ark's internal sensors are detecting both yours and Jazz's energy signatures when neither of you are scheduled to be aboard?\:_ Came Prowl's inquiry.

_:/Jazz is currently cross referencing star charts, don't ask me why but he is and I'm here to observe him in his current condition.\:_The medic told him as he watched hundreds of star charts appear upon the large screen :_/if you want answers, you're better off asking your bond-mate instead.\:_

_:/Very well I'm on my way down.\: _The tactician responded before he closed the comm. link, the medic could hear the confusion clearly in the tone of his voice. He knew the Dodge Charger's logic circuits would be working overtime to make sense of why the 3IC was checking the star charts each team had collected and added to the data-base. The chartreuse mech had to admit he was also baffled as to what the saboteur was up to, but he knew the Solstice would tell them when he was ready. A few moments passed by before the doors whooshed open and Prowl strode into the room, immediately Ratchet scanned him with his on board sensors and tutted when they revealed that the tactician's systems were reading being severely undercharged as well. No doubt his condition was a by-product of the worry the pair of them were experiencing for their missing offspring, not too mention the separation they were having to endure simply because neither one of them would swallow their pride and apologise. The Dodge Charger moved to stand beside his bond-mate, his azure gaze flicking between the silver hands tapping upon the console then to the screen where the star charts were rapidly being sorted by relevance.

"Exactly what are you looking for?" The black and white mech asked as he glanced at his spark-mate, a frown marring his facial plates.

"Have no clue, I just know it has something to do with that star chart." Jazz replied not looking up from what he was doing. Prowl glanced at Ratchet, his frown deepening.

The CMO met his gaze and shrugged his shoulders "Don't look at me, I don't have any answers for this."

The tactician glanced back at his bond-mate with a concerned look, he was beginning to suspect that the Allspark shard hadn't just changed his son, but his mate as well. He transferred his gaze back to the medic and gestured for the chartreuse mech to join him near the doors to stellar cartography, fully aware of the slight tilt of a silver finned helm.

"Ratchet have you seen anything like this?" Prowl asked in a low whisper as he watched his mate focus his attention fully upon the screen before him.

"No and there aren't any recorded incidences about a mech being altered by the Allspark either." Ratchet told him. After all the cube hadn't affected Optimus in anyway unless one counted the fact Bumblebee had been accidentally conceived as a result. The CMO briefly pondered the thought of whether their leader would inform the young scout about their familial connection, although he knew that if the Camaro was told now it would only make the tension in the base a lot more worse than it already was.

"Unless you count th' fact that 'Bee got his voice back as an Allspark 'incident'." Jazz piped up "I can hear ya, ya know an' I thought we weren't gonna keep secrets from one another any more?"

Prowl opened his mouth plates intending to comment about that, but whatever he had intended to say was lost when a beep sounded and six maps finally appeared upon the screen, each sharing a different correlation with the star chart in the bottom left hand corner. The Dodge Charger stepped forward his gaze settled upon the one in the upper right hand corner.

"Pull up that one." Prowl said pointing to it, the saboteur complied and the selected star chart enlarge to fill the screen "I recognise that planetary system."

"You do?" The Solstice asked curiously as he glanced at the tactician who briefly shared his gaze.

"We passed through that system after we detected a faint Allspark signature." The Dodge Charger responded as he gripped the edge of the console "all we found were traces that a technologically advanced race had been there long ago, but nothing else."

"And the Allspark signature you thought you were following?" The medic inquired as he glanced at the black and white curiously.

Prowl met his gaze "It disappeared before we could locate it."

"And ya only mentionin' this now?" The silver mech asked as he frowned at his mate.

A frown marred the tactician's facial plates as he glanced at Jazz "It didn't seem prudent until now, and even if I had mentioned it before now it wouldn't have been relevant, after all the Allspark was found on Earth."

Ratchet decided to intervene before the pair of them decided to argue, and he knew it was a strong possibility if their body language was anything to go by "So do you think that this star system is likely to come under attack by the Decepticons?"

The Dodge Charger glanced at the CMO "It's impossible to say, although its very unlikely that it will considering they would have to have prior knowledge of its existence, not too mention there is nothing of real value there besides ruins of a race long gone."

"Well there's somethin' there or I wouldn't have drawn this map." The saboteur pointed out "we should tag it for future reference anyway."

"I have to agree with Jazz." The Hummer said as he stood beside the smaller mech.

"Very well." Prowl responded "I will access all the sensor sweeps and scans of the planet and formulate a strategical plan in the future event that we should need it."

"I'll inform Optimus of what we know." Ratchet told the bonded pair before he turned and strode out of the room leaving the two of them alone together. The tactician glanced at the screen before he met his bonded's gaze one last time, he then turned and proceeded to leave the room although a part of him wanted to remain and resolve the situation between him and the saboteur. After all they couldn't continue the way they were going.

_::/Prowl.\\::_ It was a quiet whisper across the bond that had him stopping in his tracks, the tactician glanced over his shoulder flicking a door wing out of the way as he did so before he made his way back to his bonded's side. Prowl glanced at Jazz curiously whilst the saboteur continued to tap the keys, although after a moment of silence the Dodge Charger grew uncomfortable since the Solstice didn't seem to be letting on why he had called him back. The black and white mech was just about to open his mouth and plainly ask what the hell he was still doing there when his spark-mate beat him to it.

"Prowl we need to talk." Jazz said breaking the silence between them although he didn't look up from what he was doing.

The tactician vented a sigh as he folded his arms across his chest "Very well I'm listening." A part of him couldn't help but feel relieved that they were hopefully and finally going to sort out the issues they had with one another, whilst another part of him couldn't help but feel angry that it had taken his spark-mate this long to swallow his pride and apologise to him. But he knew he had to push that aside for now if they were to make amends and finally co-ordinate all their energy into looking for their son "I don't want to fight with you though Jazz."

"An' I with you." The saboteur responded as he finally turned away from the console and met his bond-mate's gaze, the Solstice drew in a deep intake of air before venting it in a sigh "Prowler I'm sorry, I've been a complete aft to you when ya didn't really deserve it an' I'll understand if ya can't find it in ya spark ta forgive me."

"Jazz." The Dodge Charger began as he reached out to touch one of the silver mech's elbow joints, but Jazz simply stepped back out of reach.

"At first I was so angry wit' ya fer doin' what ya did, but then I realised I was actually more angry at maself for failin' ta protect Blue from th' 'cons." The saboteur told him as he refused to meet his gaze.

The black and white mech took a couple of steps forward, he gently placed the tips of his clawed fingers upon his right hand upon the underside of the Solstice's chin in order to tilt the silver mech's helm up so their gazes met "We all failed Bluestreak that day, the blame isn't yours to shoulder alone, and whilst yes I was angry at you due to the fact you wouldn't let me explain my reasoning to hide the truth from you, I also came to the conclusion that you were more angry at yourself than everyone else I've seen it before when you've felt helpless." Prowl sighed "I just wish that you would stop blocking me, our son needs us to be united if we are to rescue him."

Jazz vented a heavy sigh as he off-lined his optics, he focused his efforts upon the bond as he removed the block he had set in place. Neither mech were prepared for the torrent of thoughts, feelings and emotions that rushed to greet them the moment it was removed, it felt as though a dam had collapsed under the pressure and the pair had to grab one another in order to steady themselves against the current. Prowl felt Jazz's regret, anger, grief, sense of loss and the feeling of helplessness as they flowed through the bond, he combated them by sending an unfathomable amount of love, comfort and reassurance that he was not alone in all of this. The tactician could feel the saboteur doing the same as the bond opened wide, and if it had been visible to the optics it would have been bared for all to see. The Solstice could feel his spark pulsing erratically and his grip tighten upon the Dodge Charger's upper arms and his legs beginning to tremble, however the intensity of their pent up emotions was enough to bring the pair of them to their knees. Jazz slumped forward, the crest of his helm resting upon the broad chest plates of his bond-mate as small sobs escaped him, his spark ached with the need and want to remain close to its other half. A shuddering sigh escaping Prowl's vocaliser told him that his spark-mate had been as deeply affected by the kidnapping of their son, and their separation. They stayed like upon the floor for several minutes, soothing one another's turmoil's with love, comfort, reassurance and a new sense of determination that they would rescue their creation together, however the incessant pinging of the ships radio channel drew them out of their bond and back to reality.

The tactician was the first to move if only to reach up and touch the control that would open up the comm. link "Prowl here."

_::About slaggin' time, I was just about to call a ship wide emergency just to get your attention.:: _Barricade growled at him from the other end.

"Alright you have my attention now 'Cade, what's going on?" The Dodge Charger inquired as he held his spark-mate's gaze, he could see a look of curiosity upon the saboteur's facial plates.

_::Well let's just say, I've found my fellow 'cons.::_ The shock trooper replied still sounding somewhat annoyed if the added gruffness was anything to go by.

"What?" Both the Dodge Charger and the Solstice demanded as they stood up fully, they met one another's gaze before they glanced at the main screen that was still displaying the star system that the black and white mech had identified earlier.

_::I managed to extend the long range sensors by cannibalising some of the ship's systems, which by the way you'll have that engineer of yours making a fuss about it later, and traced several ion signatures to a moon called .. Rhea … who in slag's name came up with that?:: _The other black and white mech groused _::I mean seriously ….::_

"'Cade!" Prowl snapped drawing his older brother's attention back, now he knew where Bluestreak got it from even though the sparkling communicated more through clicks, warbles, coos and tweets. The tactician felt his spark give a painful tug at the thought of his son, but he immediately felt his mate comfort him through the now open bond "Barricade send all available data to the tactical room."

_::Yea, yea already done and by the way tell that two bit fragger it was about time he swallowed his pride and apologised.::_ The shock trooper responded before he closed the radio link.

The Dodge Charger glanced at Jazz sheepishly "Sorry about that."

"Don't apologise, he's right and I'm sorry it took so long." The saboteur as he suddenly found his peds to be far more interesting than anything else at that moment in time.

The black and white mech cupped the side of his mate's helm and tilted it upwards so their gazes met once again "I'm just glad that it was only a few days this time, but I promise you love that I won't let it happen a third time." The Solstice simply offered him a smile which he returned in full "come on." Prowl gripped one of his spark-mate's hands and led him out of stellar cartography and through the hallways to one of the upper decks. The tactician had to admit that he had close to fretting in regards to whether or not he could salvage his relationship with Jazz, particularly since he knew the saboteur liked to hold a grudge regardless of what the others thought. The Dodge Charger was just relieved that they had finally begun the healing process and the bond was finally open between them, he knew it would be a little while longer before they were truly close again.

The pair of them finally reached the tactical room and immediately set to work, despite the fact that the saboteur wasn't exactly tactically minded, but the black and white mech always valued any input he could give particularly when it involved the special ops unit. That and he didn't want to be separated from his mate so soon not now that he had just won him back. Prowl had learned long ago that being unpredictable proved efficient in keeping the enemy ignorant of their plans and strategies that little while longer. He also knew that the Decepticons would have intimate knowledge of the moon their ship had crash landed upon (courtesy of Arcee and a little routine sabotage mission she had carried out when her team had been on their approach vector with Earth), which meant that they too would also need the same advantage. The tactician accessed communications and called for Mirage to make his way up to the Ark once he had cleared it with Optimus. Normally this kind of mission would call for Bumblebee's expertise, but since it meant entering the proverbial lion's den and no matter how good the scout was at infiltration, this one called for someone who couldn't be tracked. The Dodge Charger also hoped that the spy would also be able to get a visual confirmation upon his son just so they could have a peace of mind that he was well, even if they had to hold out on a rescue effort for now.

The Ford GT appeared aboard the Ark not long after his summons and once he was fully debriefed about the mission he was about to embark upon, he headed down to the hangar bay with his team leader following closely behind him. The pair of them entered the large room where several of the ships much smaller transports were stored, the saboteur immediately headed to the first level and began the sequence that would create a vacuum inside the hangar bay. After all although Cybertronians were designed for space flight in their rudimentary modes, equalising the pressure or lack of allowed the individual to become accustomed to the new environment, however sometimes in an emergency the procedure was forfeited leaving the mech or femme to quickly adapt instead. The soft male vocalisations in Cybertronian filled the hangar bay as the ship's computer warned about decompression and spacial vacuum, before there was the sound of a transformation taking place. Parts shifted whilst others disappeared entirely as Mirage lost his terrestrial mode and retook his Cybertronian form whilst Jazz made his way down to him.

"I'd forgotten how cold space is." The blue and white mech spoke up as he allowed a slight shiver to grip his frame to emphasis his point.

"Same here mech, but at least I get th' warm comforts of th' ship whilst you freeze ya aft off." The saboteur replied with a grin before it disappeared completely "now remember that ya only there as an observer, we need as many scans as ya can get of their positionin', any information on what their plannin', th' condition of th' Nemesis, an' 'Raj ..."

"I know don't make any kind of rescue attempt." The spy said grimly as he cut off his superior, he didn't like the thought of seeing the sparkling in the hands of the Decepticons and not being able to rescue him from their clutches. But it was one of the rules of special ops, never conduct a rescue mission on your own, that was what the retrieval squad was for however sometimes there were occasions where that rule had been bent if not broken in order to rescue a captured agent. But Bluestreak wasn't an agent fully equipped with heavy armour, he was simply a vulnerable sparkling that should a wrong move be pulled, could end up injured or worse.

The Solstice nodded, his vocaliser refusing to utter any other words than the ones he spoke next "Good luck mech." Mirage dipped his helm before turning to face the hangar bay doors which were just beginning to peel back exposing the pair of them to the inky black canvas, the blue and white mech jogged down to the exit before taking the leap into space and engaging his thrusters the moment he had transformed into his transition mode, he activated his electro-disruptor and melted into the blackness of space.

**Nemesis ….**

Starscream could curse Megatron until the end of time sometimes or until his vocaliser shorted out, the fragger had insisted that he take the minor trine composed of Thrust, Ramjet and Dirge out for patrol. The silver flier had protested loudly in regards to that idea, but backed off when the two bit glitch aimed his fusion cannon at him and powered it up. After all he knew he would be of no use to the sparkling if he was lying scattered in pieces across the Nemesis' command deck. He sneered to himself as he made his way through the dimly lit corridors to his lab, he had left the infant in the care of Skywarp who despite his shortcomings had proved to be an amble caretaker for the bitlet. Of course where one of his trine-mates could be found, the other wasn't that far away either although Thundercracker wasn't nearly as paternal toward the sparkling as his wing-mates were. That didn't meant the blue flier ignored the infant, well it was pretty hard to when the bitlet found him particularly interesting and demanded to be picked up much of the time. Starscream figured that the sparkling was associating them with his Praxian creator because of their own wing extensions, which in turn made it easier for them as the bitlet co-operated with them that much better. The Aerial Commander knew they couldn't afford to get too close to the infant, but the trice be dammed sub-routine that had been woven into their coding the moment they had on-lined wasn't exactly helping. It was stipulating that they do everything in their power to ensure that no harm came to the bitlet. The silver flier grumbled to himself as he entered the code to his lab, he could curse his Vosian heritage sometimes but he knew he simply wouldn't have it any other way. After all he had been grounded once and he had hated every breem of it up until the moment he was cleared to take flight once again. Starscream stepped inside of his lab once the doors slid open, his audio receptors immediately detected the sound of distressed whimpers from the sparkling and a mixture of excited, concerned and irritated whispers from his trine-mates.

The aerial commander crossed the expanse of his lab in mere astro-seconds and stalked into his office, immediately his gaze fell upon Thundercracker who was holding the little grey sparkling awkwardly in his arms, whilst the slightly weary infant flailed and voiced his opinion about the way he was being held with loud twittering and unhappy whimpers escaping his vocaliser. Starscream made his way over and plucked the distressed bitlet out of a somewhat startled blue flier's arms, he settled the infant up on his left shoulder and gently began patting the sparkling's delicate back plates to calm him down.

"What's your malfunction?" The silver Raptor growled when he glanced at a grinning Skywarp.

"Didn't realise you were such a big softy Screamer." The purple Raptor responded, the grin only growing bigger even under the glower his team leader was giving him.

"I'm simply doing exactly what you should have been doing .. calming him down." Starscream snarled at his wing-mate.

"We're not incompetent Starscream that was exactly what we were doing." Thundercracker told him, a scowl marring his facial plates.

The silver Raptor snorted "The way you were holding him anyone would think he had cos-mic ….." The aerial commander's words trailed off when his crimson gaze fell upon the small bronze cube that was lying upon his desk, each of the corners had peeled back revealing the glowing centre and the holographic display which was hovering just above the smooth surface "when did this happen?"

"Just a little over several breems ago." Skywarp told him, his voice serious "but frag Screamer you could have told us what to expect after you fed him that slightly purified energon this morning."

Starscream remained silent. In all honesty he had no idea what would happen if he should introduce the sparkling to slightly purified energon little by little, well except slowly poisoning him with the mixture. However it seemed that energy was a factor in drawing out the infant's abilities, so he had poured over an energon formula that would provide the bitlet with the extra energy he needed to create an Allspark burst without accidentally killing him. The silver Raptor had accounted for the fact that the modified energon formula could for the lack of a better word, send the sparkling hyperactive, but then again that was hardly any consequence to him since he quite happily delegated Skywarp sparkling sitting duty just to keep the purple flier out from under foot.

"Does Megatron know?" Starscream finally inquired as he turned and scrutinised each of his trine-mates.

"Not yet." Thundercracker responded.

"Good I want it to remain that way." The silver Raptor told them.

"Screamer do you think that's wise?" Skywarp asked as he quirked a single optic ridge "you know how testy ole Megs gets when you conveniently neglect to tell him something."

The 2IC glanced at his purple trine-mate as he continued to gently rub the infant's back plates, the bitlet had finally quietened and was now on the verge of recharge. Starscream vented a sigh out of his intakes, for the first time in a long time he was torn between whether to keep this from that two bit glitch Megatron a while longer and bring his wrath down upon him, or play the good little soldier and lose his advantage over the Decepticon leader. The silver Raptor glanced at the sparkling perched upon his shoulder who had fallen deep into recharge, a new sense of determination settled in his spark as he finally decided upon his fate. The Aerial commander chose at that moment to keep the activation of the map quiet for now, as he knew that wherever the map led too, it was likely to result in the infant's termination, although he had to admit though he was also curious as to where it led too and knew that if he handed it over now, he would never find out.

"We keep this quiet for now." Starscream told his wing-mates, the pair of them nodded somewhat reluctantly before stepping out of the silver Raptor's office. The 2IC watched them leave before switching his gaze back to open cube, he knew that whatever was contained in that star system would without a doubt lead them all to their doom especially if Megatron laid his claws upon it. Which meant he had to uncover the truth and somehow get there first before the Decepticon leader did.

_**A/N: **I'm not overly pleased with this chapter as real life was certainly taking its toll on me whilst I was writing it. _

_And I know what you're thinking, where the hell am I going with this fic? Well I thought that there was no way that Jazz could not be affected by the Allspark, after all the cube was a mystery even to the Cybertronians so strange things are bound to happen, although for those who have read 'Growing Pains', you many remember there was one, one shot where Jazz was capable of talking to Primus. And much of what is going on will be explained in a later chapter I promise._

_Anyway next chapter up: Plans set in motion._

_Read & Review!_


	21. One step closer

_I wanna thank everyone who reviewed the last chapter, put this story on their alert lists and added it to their favourites, you're all awesome especially when it comes to waiting for me to update this fic, I'm really sorry about that! *slinks away into hiding* Anyway here's the next chapter for all you patient people!_

_**Warnings:** Use of profanities, fluff, angst_

_**Disclaimer**: Not mine, I just toy with with them and hand them back in less than pristine condition._

_'Blah' – thoughts_

_::Blah:: - Radio Communication_

_:/blah\: - Inter. comm._

_::/Blah\\:: Bond communication_

"_Blah" - Inter-dimmensional speech_

_{Blah} – Cybertronian speech_

**

* * *

**

**Nemesis . . . .**

He was pissed, in fact he was beyond that as he was downright livid, although he knew he should have known that this was likely to have been kept from him. It was only through the sly tactics of one of Soundwave's small symbiont's that he had discovered it, after all there was no telling what that two bit fragger Starscream could be planning behind his back, especially when he held two vital pieces to win the war against the infernal Autobots. Megatron stalked through the dimly lit corridors to his so called 2IC's lab, the snarl forming upon his facial plates was enough to send any of his subordinates scurrying for the shadows or into nearby corridors to avoid their leader's wrath brought down upon them, all except one whom was currently following him. Shockwave was somewhat immune to his leader's outbursts since they were never directed at him, unless of course an experiment he had been ordered to conduct failed miserably. The Decepticon leader finally reached his destination and viciously stabbed the key pad on the wall, the doors slid open with a soft hiss and the large silver mech marched into the room. Immediately his crimson optics fell upon the hunched form of his aerial commander who had neither heard him enter the lab, or was simply ignoring him; the latter being the most likely in this case. Then his gaze flittered over to the Autobot sparkling sat in a glass tank that had been converted into a makeshift crib, he was mildly surprised to see the blue glow of ancient runes upon the infant's forearms. Although he suspected that it was possibly a by-product of the Allspark shard being absorbed by the bitlet, and the only way he would be sure of it was by allowing Scalpel to run a deeper analysis of the sparkling. However Megatron wasn't all that interested in the infant's genetic make-up, after all the bitlet was here for one purpose only; free his master from his eternal prison so destruction could be wrought upon the universe, but first things first he had one glitch head of a flier to deal with.

"Starscream." The Decepticon leader growled as he approached the other silver mech, he watched in satisfaction as the F22 Raptor yelped in surprise and scrambled off his seat. So he wasn't ignoring his presence then. The sparkling trilled in concern as he padded the side of the tank closest to Starscream, baby blue optics wide and bright. Megatron sneered at the sparkling in disgust, Autobots were such sentimental fools and they even passed down the useless emotions of compassion, sensitivity and selflessness down to their offspring as well. In a show of defiance, the infant glared at him and his little sensory panels snapped up into a high 'V' position on his back. A barely interpretable smile tugged at the corners of his lip components, so the infant wasn't completely soft after all. But it didn't matter either way, the sparkling's fate was already sealed, although it was somewhat of a pity as the infant would have made a formidable soldier particularly if he had inherited either his carrier's knowledge of sabotage and subterfuge. Or better yet his sire's understanding of logistics and tactical analysis.

"Lord Megatron, what do I owe by being graced by your .. greatness?" Starscream sneered as he brushed down his ruffled plating and quickly composed himself.

"You! You spineless worthless piece of scrap metal have been keeping vital information from me." Megatron growled as he stalked toward the silver flier, clawed fingers flexing and crimson optics bright with barely repressed anger.

The F22 Raptor stood his ground, refusing to submit to the large silver mech "I was going to finish my research and present my findings to you then." From the corner of his optics he noticed that the infant was becoming increasingly distressed, if the unhappy whimpers and warbles not too mention the little sensory panels drooping upon his back, were any indication of the bitlet's steadily decreasing mood. But Starscream knew he couldn't afford to show the Autobot sparkling any outward concern as he knew there was every chance Megatron would use the infant as leverage against him. The Raptor's crimson gaze flickered briefly to Shockwave who was stood shy a few metres from their leader, the singular crimson optic bore into him, cold and calculating. Starscream sneered at the violet coloured mech, he knew the Apache Helicopter held the Decepticon tyrant's audio like that sparkless drone Soundwave did most of the time, and without a doubt would have convinced Megatron that he was becoming a soft sparked fool and neglecting his duties. Of course the Raptor could lie his way out of it and explain that he had been leading the Autobot sparkling into a false sense of security, but he knew Megatron was slowly losing his incredibly short tether of patience and demanded results. Starscream briefly wondered if the creature's impatience was the real reason behind the Decepticon leader's foul temper recently, after all he was much more demanding in getting what he wanted than the large silver mech was.

"I will endeavour to ensure that you will get the results soon." The Raptor told his commander as he turned back to his work, nonchalantly brushing Megatron off and choosing to ignore him from that point onwards. However it appeared to be the wrong choice to make as a squeal of alarm from the infant was the only warning he got before he was roughly grabbed and slammed none too gently into one of the bulkheads. The force of the impact was enough to shake the entire room and leave Starscream dazed senseless for a few breems before he recovered enough of his senses and began scrabbling to prise away the choke hold on his throat.

"I want those results now." Megatron snarled, his grip tightening.

"It .. it takes t-time .. to decode .. the s-sequence." Starscream choked out as he tried to ignore the numerous error messages and warnings popping up in his HUD. The Raptor knew the decoding of the ancient runes could go allot faster if one; he had Skyfire here, as the old Veritech was well versed in the language of the Primes. Or two; the creature offered a servo, but he was currently in stasis conserving his energy "I can .. only go as .. f-fast as I am .. able." Megatron squeezed his grip a faction tighter before letting go, Starscream collapsed to the floor, one clawed hand immediately soothing the soreness in his neck cables whilst crimson optics glared up at the Decepticon leader.

The silver mech crouched down in front of his aerial commander, his forearms coming to rest upon his thighs, his crimson optics narrowing "I expect to see results at the end of the orn or ..." The Decepticon leader glanced over his shoulder to where the Autobot sparkling was crying softly inside his makeshift crib "... that infant will not be the only one to meet an untimely end .. am I understood?" A growl from the Raptor was the first response he received "Starscream?"

"Perfectly." The silver flier hissed angrily.

A smirk made its way onto Megatron's lip components "Good, Shockwave you are to assist Starscream and see to it that he is not … distracted from the task at hand."

"Of course my lord." The military commander complied as he watched his leader push himself up to his full towering height, Megatron directed one last disgusted sneer at both the Raptor and the sparkling before he strode out of the room.

The silver flier picked himself up from the floor, stumbling slightly when his equilibrium circuits had to reinitialise. Starscream began Megatron's lineage back to the original thirteen as he stalked across to the work bench he had been at moments ago, his entire frame tense with seething anger. Although his demeanour softened slightly when his gaze fell upon the distressed sparkling, he was half tempted to simply ignore the fact Shockwave was still in the room and comfort the little one like the thrice be dammed protective coding was telling him too. But he simply pushed it to the back of his processor for now as he had more important things to concern himself with; such as the safety and well being of the last of the hatchlings whose very existence was now under threat, although the F22 Raptor refused to allow anything to happen to them whilst there was still enough spark beating inside of his chest.

* * *

**Ark . . . .**

It felt as though it had been a long time since he had last stepped on board the Ark despite the fact it had only been just a little less than half of a vorn. The old transport ship had served them as a temporary home whilst they had travelled through the depths of space, not too mention as a battleship when they had engaged the Decepticons, however it reminded him too much of what had been lost during the long war particularly of the young mechs and femmes who had given their lives to keep the Allspark out of Megatron's hands. Optimus felt his spark give a painful clench inside its casing at that, after all what they had tried to prevent from happening had no come to pass, although Bluestreak was hardly the ancient artefact, merely a vessel to channel its diminished powers or so Ratchet had hypothesised, however there was no telling for sure exactly what the Allspark shard had done to the infant's physiology, only time would tell as the sparkling grew older. They knew that Bluestreak was capable of bringing mechanical objects to life if the cellphone incident in the rec. room not long ago was anything to go by, lucky enough Sam hadn't been too badly injured and was recovering nicely but the new life that had been accidentally spawned, had perished shortly after its creation.

Ratchet had speculated, after he had called the Prime, Prowl and Jazz down to the med-bay on Earth, that it had taken a tremendous about of energy for the bitlet to create an Allspark surge, which was why the sparkling had tapped into both of his parent's systems through the bond and began draining their energy reserves. A feat. that was both dangerous and could end in fatality. The CMO had also provided the explanation for the saboteur's strange behaviour, he told them that he had been keeping tabs upon the Solstice since he had been revived by the shard. Jazz had been none too impressed that the medic had been keeping the information from him, but lucky enough Prowl was able to use his diplomacy skills and quickly reined in his spark-mate's temper before it could flare. After all no-one had ever been brought back from deactivation before so there wasn't any records in the data-base to tell them what to expect during recovery and life afterwards.

The semi Peter-built nodded to a few human military personnel and engineers as he passed them on the way to the Ark's tactical analysis room. Both them and their allies were preparing the transport ship for battle in the off chance (which was looking more likely), the Decepticons would lead a full out assault on them again. Optimus arrived at the analysis room and typed the code in the pad, the doors slid open to reveal the dimly lit room beyond. He stepped inside and slowed in his stride when his azure optics fell upon the sight in front of him, a smile worked its way onto his lip components as he quietly made his way over to the centre table. Prowl was currently slumped over the edge of the table, his arms pillowed beneath his head and his door wings were lying flat upon his back, a quick scan of his sensors indicated that the tactician was clearly deep in recharge. Jazz on the other servo was sat close beside the 2IC, his silver clawed fingers trailing down the back of his spark-mate's helm in soothing strokes.

The saboteur glanced up, dim cobalt optics meeting his leader's "Hey boss-bot."

"Morning Jazz." The Prime greeted his 3IC.

"Is it?" The Solstice inquired looking somewhat surprised at that as he straightened slightly, the semi Peter-built hid his wince at hearing all of the silver mech's joints pop and the less than subtle groan of discomfort working its way out of Jazz's vocaliser.

"It is on Earth." The large red and blue mech told him "how long have you both been in here?"

"A while." The saboteur replied "Prowl refuses to give in until he has a viable plan that has a ninety five success rate." The Solstice vented a sigh at the thought of his bond-mate's stubbornness.

"That sounds about right." Optimus said as he glanced at the recharging form of his 2IC, a small smile upon his lip components "has Mirage reported back?"

"No, in fact we're waitin' on his Intel. before we can verify the plans and run them through a couple of simulations so we can tweak them." Jazz replied as he pushed himself up out of his seat, taking time to stretch and undo any kinks in his joints, and work out some of the stiffness that had worked its way into his frame. The saboteur vented a deep sigh as he scrubbed tired facial plates with his left hand "I just hope they work."

"Have a little faith in Prowl. " The Prime told him as he folded his arms across his chest plates.

The Solstice met his gaze, normally bright blue optics were pale and dim "Believe me I do, but Blue's an unknown factor in all of this." The silver mech's shoulders slumped "if we even make the slightest of mistakes an' …." Jazz's words trailed off as he glanced over toward the consoles and displays across from him, he didn't even want to contemplate the thought of Megatron murdering his child. But he knew even without Prowl telling him, that it was an incredibly high possibility that he would anyway.

"I know Jazz." The semi Peter-built replied "sparklings and younglings can produce very different outcomes even to the soundest of plans, and especially more so when their creators are involved."

The saboteur glanced at him, their gazes meeting "Is that why you've always tried to keep an arms length between you an' Bumblebee? Because you were afraid that if ya got too close, that it could cloud your judgement?"

Optimus couldn't help but look surprised at that as he tried to process what his 3IC had just said, after all no-one but Ratchet knew about the familial relationship he had with the scout "How did you ….?"

"I learnt a thin' or two when I was in th' matrix, not ta mention durin' th' four years th' shard was in ma spark chamber." The Solstice explained looking considerably calm, although a small frown began to make its way onto his facial plates "but ma question is, why didn't ya tell any of us? Especially Ironhide."

The Prime sighed "For the very same reason, Ratchet, Prowl and myself kept the knowledge about Bluestreak from you."

"You could have trusted some of us with th' knowledge about 'Bee, but I understand ya need fer detachment." The silver mech told him "I didn't think I could miss or worry about someone as much as I do now, especially with the bond pulled so painfully thin between us."

"You will see your son again." The semi Peter-built reassured his 3IC.

"I hope so." Jazz responded as a small sad smile working its way onto his lip components, then he felt someone ping his comm. link "Jazz here."

_:/Jazz it's Mirage.\:_ Came the reply.

The saboteur couldn't help but look somewhat surprised if not relieved "Mech what's your ETA?"

_:/Ten minutes I'm about to board the Ark.\: _The blue and white mech told him.

"Once ya on board, head straight ta th' tactical analysis room, Prowl an' I will be waitin' fer ya there." The Solstice instructed him as he made his way over to the tactician and gave him a gentle shake.

_:/Understood.\: _Mirage responded before he terminated the link.

Optimus smiled in amusement when the Dodge Charger swatted his spark-mate away, he also grumbled at him as he begrudgingly came back on-line. The 2IC pushed himself upright with a soft groan working its way out of his vocaliser when his body protested the movement, the black and white mech spotted the red and blue frame of his commander and he curt his helm in acknowledgement of his leader's presence, then he plugged himself into the central console drawing up the incomplete battle plans from earlier. The semi Peter-built noticed Jazz's look of disapproval at seeing his bond-mate burying himself immediately in his work the second he came out of recharge, he even bemusedly heard the saboteur curse Prowl's lineage for being far too work obsessed as the Solstice reached into his sub-space for a sealed cup of energon and a heating canister. The large red and blue mech then watched as his 3IC nagged his 2IC into ingesting the now warm energon after he pushed a small mug of the glowing pink liquid into his mate's free hand.

It wasn't long before Mirage appeared in the room looking tired and covered in dust and small ice particles, the spy made his way over to the tactician and extended a small data-disk that he had kept hidden in a tiny compartment in the underside of his left forearm. The Dodge Charger took it from him and slid it into a slot before issuing the command for the data to be unlocked, he then brought it up on the large holographic display that was in front of him.

"I managed to get as much Intel. as I could in regards to their positioning, how far along they were with repairs, and I tapped into their comm. frequencies." Mirage told them as he hitched a hip up onto the edge of the strategy table and folded his arms across his chest plates. He wasn't about to give credit to Barricade for the success in being able to hack into the Decepticons comm. links, after all he still hadn't committed his allegiance to the Autobots, that and everyone still thought of him as the enemy.

"Were there any indications as to what they might be planning?" Optimus inquired as he glanced at the spy.

"They plan to take the Nemesis into space, if all the hasty repairs they're making is anything to go by." The blue and white mech replied as he observed Prowl trawl through the data he had brought back.

"Where the frag do they plan on goin'?" Jazz asked in concern, his worry for his son increasing ten fold at the thought of the Decepticons taking off with Bluestreak aboard their ship, and them having no way of being able to track them.

"I'm not sure, but they do have some kind of device that looked as old as the Allspark had been, however I unfortunately only saw it briefly." Mirage responded as he watched his team leader's frame deflate and the tactician's door wings flicker.

"If that is the case then we shall need to lead an assault on the Nemesis before their repairs are complete." The Prime suggested.

The Dodge Charger glanced up and met his leader's gaze "I agree."

"Alright, how long will you need in order to have a usable plan in place?" The semi Peter-built inquired.

"A few hours, the process would go much quicker if I had Trailbreaker's assistance." The black and white mech told his commander.

"Very well, I'll send him up the moment I'm back on Earth." Optimus responded whilst he quickly checked his ternary "I'll also schedule a full staff meeting for oh fourteen hundred hours, that's six hours from now." Both Jazz and Prowl nodded in acknowledgement of that. The Prime curt his head in their direction before making his way out of the room.

The saboteur watched as the Autobot leader left the room, clearly aware of his mate burying himself in his work once again as he turned his attention to the blue and white spy "'Raj go an' refuel, ya earned it." Mirage dipped his helm and began making his way over to the doorway "one more thin'." The Solstice glanced away from the display to meet weary cobalt optics "did ya get ta see Blue? Is he okay?"

The spy vented a small sigh "He is fine, no harm has come to him, although I doubt Starscream would let anyone lay a servo on him."

"Ma son is in th' company of that two bit fragger?" Jazz demanded, his entire frame coiling with tension and anxiety.

"That will be a mistake Megatron will regret making." Prowl spoke up without so much as looking up from what he was currently doing.

The saboteur spun round to face his bonded "What? Why?"

The tactician glanced up "Vosians are extremely protective of any young although more particularly of their own or Praxians since we are closely related."

The Solstice couldn't help but look confused "Wait so are ya tellin' me that Screamer is keepin' Blue safe coz he's feelin' a lil protective? Somehow I kinda find that hard ta believe."

"Well not so much as Starscream himself, but more like the string of coding that had been woven deeply into their programming since the first flier." Mirage told his team leader "and if my memory serves me correctly, that same coding is in Praxians as well."

"It does." The Dodge Charger replied as he folded his arms across his chest plates briefly "although it is not as prominent in us as it is in Vosians."

The silver mech couldn't help but frown "How come I've never heard of this before?"

"It wasn't exactly common knowledge Jazz and for a simple reason, it could be used against us as I'm sure Megatron has been doing to keep Starscream obedient." Prowl explained as he allowed his arms to drop down to his sides before hunching over the console he was stood next to, to continue with his work.

"Ya mean he'll use Blue as leverage if Screamer decides he doesn't want ta play th' loyal disciple any more?" Jazz demanded as his entire frame tensed and his clawed hands curled into fists.

The tactician vented a sigh as he regarded the screen in front of him "It's possible which is why I'm going through all of the available data to form a quick and efficient plan."

"In another words ya want us to slag off." The saboteur grumbled. The Dodge Charger didn't say anything in response, but the shooing motion directed at them had the two special ops mechs retreating to the doorway.

The blue and white spy gently gripped one of his team leader's elbows and gave him a reassuring smile "We'll get Blue back Jazz."

The Solstice watched as Mirage stepped out of the room before he glanced across to where his bonded was, their gazes met briefly but in those few seconds, words that couldn't be said out loud were conveyed across the bond through feelings. And it seemed that the pair of them were thinking along the same lines as one another; they would get their son back regardless of the outcome.

* * *

**Oh fourteen hundred hours – Diego Garcia base ….**

On a regular day, no-one enjoyed the full staff meetings that were held inside the briefing room at Diego Garcia, as they tended to be monotonous and boring that the younger bots and some of the human personnel would fall asleep. However the last few meetings had been sombre as they talked and discussed about possible and impartial tactical plans they received from Prowl, the status of the teams both human and Autobot, any new Intel. they had managed to dig up, carrying out continuous sweeps of the base to check for any kind of Decepticon recording device, and the issue with base morale. Sideswipe and Sunstreaker had both been quiet since Bluestreak's kidnapping, and hadn't been seen outside of their quarters except for when they had to report to duty. That was until Ironhide put forth the suggestion of allowing the soldiers to blow off some steam in the training area, Optimus had approved of the idea and even headed down to join in with the 'training' exercises. It had proved to be an ideal distraction to anyone not involved in the tactical and strategical planning, however with Mirage's return with new valuable information regarding the Decepticons allowed all progress that had been stopped, to move forward again.

Which ended up with a full staff meeting being called by the Prime (although the humans were excluded from the briefing this time, a fact that appeared somewhat suspicious to their allies), surprisingly the mood of the base changed when the Autobots in particular heard they would finally be able to strike back at the enemy, and rescue their youngest member of their family from the Decepticons. Although several of the human soldiers spoke about wanting to get revenge for their comrades who had been killed in the last attack, even though Major Lennox had tried to discourage such behaviour knowing it was likely to get more of them killed through recklessness. However he did understand the need to get back at the Decepticons as he felt every death personally since they were under his command. That and he did not enjoy the grim task of having to inform the families of the deceased about their loved ones being killed in the line of duty.

Optimus watched from where he was stood as the briefing room filled with personnel, he met the gazes of each of his Autobots before dipping his helm in acknowledgement of their presences. The Prime already knew what the most probable outcome of this meeting was going to be, but he was concerned about leaving the Earth without any form of defence, although he knew if it truly came down to it he could pick a team of five to remain on the small blue planet. A small smile tugged at his lip components when his gaze fell upon Prowl and Jazz as the pair of them entered the room, he was glad to see the two of them together and getting along as seeing them apart just didn't seem right. The semi Peter-built could tell the pair of them were not as tense as they had been, if the subtle signs in their body language were any indication. He also understood that with the new Intel. Mirage had returned with brought them a step closer to finally rescuing their son and being reunited with him. Optimus met both of his Lieutenants gazes as they made their way over to their respective seats on either side of him, his tactician dipped in head greeting whilst his head of special ops flashed him a small smile as he sat down. The Prime then glanced from his second and third in commands to the doorway again as the twins entered the room, he frowned slightly when he saw the identical solemn expressions upon their facial plates, he knew the pair were still feeling guilty about not having done enough to protect Bluestreak. After all they had been appointed his guardians, and as part of their oath was to protect him no matter the cost. The semi Peter-built watched as the black shadow better known as Barricade made his way over to one of the walls where he leant against it and folded his arms across his chest plates, his crimson gaze settled upon the floor before he turned his attention to his fellow Autobots. Optimus made a sound similar to a human clearing their throat and immediately the room fell silent and every gaze was upon him.

_{As you are all aware of, a few days ago we had no clue as to the whereabouts of the Decepticons, but now we have valuable Intel. as to their current location.} _The Prime told his subordinates as he switched to their native language. The semi Peter-built leant across the table and keyed in a sequence upon one of the control pads in front of him, the room went dark and a holographic screen activated a few inches above the polished surface. An image appeared upon upon the screen a few seconds later of Saturn's moon Rhea*, swiftly followed by another of the crashed Nemesis undergoing repairs _{our newest Intel. reveals that the Nemesis crashed upon the moon sometime ago, however they have been persistent in repairing their ship which is why I suspect the Decepticons have tapped into as many of Earth's resources as possible … but now we are faced with a difficult choice.}_

_{Difficult choice Sir?} _Bumblebee inquired as a confused frown appeared upon his facial plates.

_{If we are to pursue the Decepticons and we must, we will have no choice but to leave Earth.} _Optimus responded _{however I fear that by doing so, we could be opening up Earth to further attack from the Decepticons should Megatron dispatch a unit to destroy the planet.}_

_{I say we leave and kill the fraggin' 'cons, we've already been told we're not wanted here.}_ Sunstreaker muttered under his breath as he slouched back in his seat with his arms folded across his chest plates.

_{Its not as simple as that Sunstreaker.}_ Prowl spoke up as he glanced at the two front-liners, but more specifically a gold Lamborghini _{the humans are our allies and we should take steps to ….}_

Sunstreaker sat forward sharply, his optics narrowed and brightly lit with barely restrained anger _{There's only one thing we should be doing, rescuing Bluestreak from those glitch brained pit slaggers. Yet here we are .. talking.}_

_{Sunny I wanna get Blue back more than anyone, but we can't go in half cocked with no plan.} _Jazz told him as he sat forward in his seat, arms coming to rest upon the table in front of him _{we can't risk doin' anythin' that might get not only us killed, but Blue as well.}_

Sideswipe gently touched his brother's right forearm _{He's right bro, the situations too delicate for us to go off an' be reckless.} 'Although I'd rather go slag the fraggers now then wait for a plan' _The red Lamborghini added as an afterthought which he sent through their sibling bond.

The gold front-liner allowed a small smile to quirk the corners of his lip components, but it disappeared entirely when Sunstreaker glanced at the tactician _{So what's the plan?}_

The Dodge Charger reached across to the keypad in front of him and accessed a file, the image of Rhea was replaced with a more complex and detailed scan of the moon _{We are all aware that the Nemesis utilises multiphasic shielding and remodulating ion and plasma cannons as we do, which will not make them an easy target to attack.} _The black and white mech touched a couple of controls and a detailed scan of the Nemesis' current condition with a few sections highlighted appeared upon the screen before the topographical map of the moon appeared beside it _{recent intelligence suggests that repairs are still under way and that both their weapons systems and shields are still off-line, however that status could change at any time.}_

_{So we need to knock out both before we can lead an assault on them?}_ Bumblebee inquired _{how do you propose to do this?}_

Prowl glanced from the scout to meet Jazz's gaze _{We'll need to lead a pre-emptive strike in order to sabotage their key systems, Jazz you will take your team into the Nemesis the moment we arrive and disable their primary systems, without them they'll be defenceless.}_ The special ops team nodded their agreement.

Sideswipe sat forward in his seat _{I assume that whilst they're wreckin' a little havoc on the 'cons, we're gonna be drawin' their fire away from them.}_

_{I believe antagonising Starscream and his trine is one of your favourite pass times is it not Sideswipe?} _The tactician remarked with a single optic ridge raised.

_{I assume you've got a backup plan in case everything goes south?} _Ironhide asked as he folded his arms across his armoured chest plates _{we know ole bucket head ain't going to give up Bluestreak without a fight.}_

_{I do.} _The Dodge Charger replied before he sent a data burst to each of them, the black and white mech received a ping of confirmation from all of the assembled, although none of them said anything as they knew it was imperative that they at least have one plan unknown to the enemy, particularly if something or someone was listening in on them _{my initial plan is for our forces to split into three sub-groups. Jazz you will take your special ops unit into the Nemesis, your first priority is to disable their primary systems then once our strike team which will comprise of the twins, Ironhide, Optimus, Barricade, Trailbreaker and Inferno, moves into position, your second objective will be to retrieve and retreat as quickly as possible.} _The special ops and the strike team nodded in acknowledgement of their orders _{the strike team will be backed up by myself and Arcee, we'll be providing cover fire from these sniper points.} _Prowl pointed to two particular ridges that provided enough concealment and the ideal location to shoot from _{Wheeljack your primary role will be to provide triage upon the battlefield, Ratchet I believe I don't think I need to remind you that you are to remain aboard the Ark, after all you are an important commodity to our continued functioning.} _The CMO was about to open his mouth plates and protest against the decision since it was not unheard of for the medic to be out in the field, but he wisely shut his mouth plates for now _{Red Alert you will also remain aboard the Ark to monitor our security network, I believe Megatron wouldn't pass over an opportunity to find out what we're planning whilst we are all distracted. Skyfire will provide aerial cover unless the twins can keep Starscream and his trine busy.}_

_:/Understood Prowl.\: _The old Veritech replied through a comm. link as the mech was simply to large to fit into the base, however he had been privy to the entire conversation through a secured comm. link.

_{So how do you wanna play this?} _Sideswipe asked as he sat forward and leant an elbow on the table _{full frontal assault?}_

The tactician quirked a single optic ridge at the somewhat gleeful look upon the red Lamborghini's facial plates _{Yes it will, the strike team will be segregated into two groups, one will attack from the west and the other from the east.}_ The Dodge Charger displayed the two holographic unit's movements on the screen. Several of the bots took notes whilst others committed the proposed battle scenario to memory _{whilst the strike team are providing a distraction by drawing out the bulk of the Decepticon army, Jazz you and your team will immediately head for the extraction co-ordinates here.} _The black and white mech tapped an area upon the display as he glanced at each of the special ops agents in turn before his gaze came to rest upon his spark-mate_ {Is that understood?}_ Prowl glanced around and received several nods of confirmation.

Optimus stood, his gaze sweeping over the assembled _{There is no margin for error on this mission, if Megatron should catch wind of what we're planning … well I believe I don't need to explain to you all what will happen.}_ The congregated Autobots allowed their helms to hang, none of them wanted to contemplate what the Decepticon leader could be capable of with one of theirs in his midsts _{I'm confident however in each and every one of you, and I know you will all do your best in rescuing our most precious member of our family.} _The Prime offered them all a smile _{we leave at oh nineteen hundred tonight, dismissed.}_ The semi Peter-built watched as each of his sub-ordinates nodded in confirmation of his orders before filing out of the room, there was no doubt that they would be either saying their goodbyes to the humans (he was not looking forward to actually informing their allies about their plans, however they needed to act now rather than later), or collecting any equipment they would need for the trip ahead, although many of them knew that they could quite possibly be back on Earth inside a week if the plan Prowl had proposed played out as they hoped it would. Optimus was clearly aware that both his second and third in commands hadn't yet left the briefing room and were stood to one side of him, every now and again however there were brief flickers in their body language which suggested they were communicating over their bond. And for good reason as their attention was solely fixed upon a certain shook trooper trying to slip out of the room, unaware of a role his brother and Jazz wanted him to play in the upcoming battle.

The Prime straightened himself and a stern expression made its way onto his facial plates "Barricade." He rumbled which had the Mustang pause in his stride, Barricade turned and crimson optics met deep cobalt ones "remain behind, there are things we need to discuss."

* * *

After the briefing which had taken place a few hours before hand, the Diego Garcia base was awash with activity as the Autobots collected what they needed and carried it through the transwarp gate and onto the Ark. The NEST unit began mobilising troops to their few select bases around the world, a precaution set in place in order to make sure a team was ready to dispatch should the need arise. Informing the humans about their intentions had possibly been one of the hardest tasks Optimus had ever done, the NEST soldiers who they had worked closely with for the past five years had kicked up a protest about being left behind. But many of them came to understand that the upcoming battle was going to be far more dangerous (not that they weren't already every time they engaged the Decepticons in a skirmish), combined with the fact that they required an atmosphere to breathe and a gravitational field to keep them grounded, meant that this was one fight they would have to sit out. Even Sam and Mikaela understood that this was one fight that they would not be able to participate in either, the pair of them particularly Sam was also saddened by the fact that not only were they losing their guardian, but their closest friends as well, despite the fact they had been reassured by many of the Autobots that they would return intact.

Although Sergeant Epps and a few others were somewhat miffed that they wouldn't be able to kick some Decepticon afts, however they had been entrusted with Earth's new defence system that had been put in place a few days prior. Wheeljack had been working on the weapons systems for several weeks now and had managed to create a few prototypes which had worked exceptionally well in the field. So they had been launched them into geosynchronous orbit where they awaited orders from the ground. Of course the satellites like the Transformers were kept a secret as to not cause any panic, although many of the government officials were sceptical about their effectiveness, especially now that the Cybertronians were no longer going to be their first line of defence. However the Prime had been tempted to subtly step to the right during the video conference two hours ago, if only to wipe that condescending smirk off of that imp Galloway's face.

The semi Peter-built glanced around the bridge of the Ark, taking note of who was where and the duties they were performing, he straightened fully and folded his arms across his chest plates as he settled his cobalt gaze upon the main viewer. He had to admit he was somewhat apprehensive about leaving the little blue planet that had served as their home for the past five years, without at least a small team of Autobots to defend it. But if the worst did come to pass the Ark was capable of reaching Earth as quickly as possible, although that had only been through Ratchet's many vorns of tinkering with the ship's interstellar drive, then there was Wheeljack's more recent additions to the engines which would make the Ark that much more faster than the Nemesis. The large red and blue mech became aware of his second in command coming to stand beside him, door wings flared and his hands clasped behind his back.

"The Ark's systems check out sir and the NEST unit report the orbital weapons systems are online, we're good to go." Prowl reported.

"Very well." Optimus replied before his gaze fell upon the helm "Jazz take us out of orbit and lay in a course."

"You got OP." The saboteur responded as he keyed in the co-ordinates upon the helm console with several quick consecutive taps.

A few brief seconds later there was an audible hum as the transport ship's engines were activated, the Ark steered away from its geosynchronous orbit around Earth's moon. Then the transport ship trembled as the interstellar drive engaged before it jumped forward and vanished in a bright flash.

* * *

_**A/N:** *looks guilty* I didn't intend for this to take so long to be updated, but the dam plot bunnies refused to co-operate, and things will begin to pick up now, this was more of a 'calm before the storm' chapter. *I also did some research on where the Nemesis crash landed, and its not exactly clear whether it was Saturn's moon or not, so I'm leaving it as it is._

_Read & Review!_


	22. Assault and betrayal Part 1

_I wanna thank everyone who reviewed the last chapter, put this story on their alert lists and added it to their favourites, you're all awesome especially when it comes to waiting for me to update this fic, I'm really sorry about that! Anyway here's the next chapter for all you patient people!_

_**Warnings:** Use of profanities, angst, implications of violence, brief mention of events that occurred in **Defiance**_

_**Disclaimer**: Not mine, I just toy with with them and hand them back in less than pristine condition._

_'Blah' – thoughts_

_::Blah:: - Radio Communication_

_:/blah\: - Inter. comm._

_::/Blah\\:: Bond communication_

"_Blah" - Inter-dimmensional speech_

_{Blah} – Cybertronian speech_

It almost felt like old times as the Ark glided through the vast blackness of space at faster than light speeds, Jazz mused as he dissembled one of the few smaller guns that he had in his arsenal. The saboteur already checked to make sure his integrated photon cannon worked efficiently by blowing the pit out of some moving targets, and now he was just making sure all of his back ups (as a special ops agent never just carried one weapon on him) were in good working order. The 3IC set each of the different parts of his handguns down beside him, then with a small brush and a rag he began to clean each part meticulously. The silver mech blew down one of the barrels after he fed one of the small brushes down it in order to get rid of any plasma residue that had been dislodged.

Since they had left Earth's orbit, Jazz had spent much of his time down in the training room running his team through numerous hand to hand combat simulations (in the off chance that they might run into Decepticon heavy hitters or Megatron himself) and scenarios. Then the saboteur used up the rest of his time going over the tactical plans with Prowl and fulfilling his duties, the 3IC knew that he needed to keep his mind preoccupied otherwise his mind would continuously churn over the numerous possibilities that could occur during the proposed rescue of his sparkling. The silver mech vented a deep sigh out of his intakes as he began reassembling one of his guns, he missed Bluestreak terribly and hoped that the infant was well and not distressed from being separated from his parents for so long. Jazz had reached across the bond as much as he could just to comfort and reassure his creation, but the link had been pulled so painfully thin that he struggled to even sense their bitlet.

The saboteur knew his spark-mate was also struggling with the separation as Prowl had hardly left the tactical analysis room ever since they boarded the Ark. The 3IC had gone to great lengths to drag his bonded from the room, although he clearly understood the tactician's obsession to ensure his plans and back up strategies were all going to work the way he had devised them, even with the small margins of error and the Decepticon's unpredictability incorporated into them. Jazz knew his mate wanted to get Bluestreak back with a minimum of casualties, but the saboteur understood that Megatron wasn't likely to give their son up now that the Decepticon leader knew the infant was a remnant of the Allspark. The 3IC did wonder about what the silver tyrant had in store for his creation, not too mention he couldn't understand why the Decepticons were so focused on getting the Nemesis repaired, unless of course they planned to head back to Cybertron. But then that begged the question of why they would return to their home planet? after all the energon deposits were all but gone, and besides small pockets of Autobot resistance, there was nothing of real value in the slightest.

"I take it you can't think of a more productive means to pass the time by some chance?" Came the low smooth tenor of one mech he knew of in particular which drew him out of his thoughts.

Jazz glanced up briefly and met the azure gaze of his spark-mate "Well I think Mirage an' Bumblebee were gettin' tired wit' havin' their facial plates driven inta th' trainin' mats."

"I can imagine." Prowl responded as he made his way over, his gaze sweeping across the empty training room "you can be somewhat relentless when you want to be."

The saboteur smirked at that "In or out of the berth?"

The tactician chuckled as he settled down beside his bonded "Both."

The 3IC shook his head in amusement as he picked up the glowing plasma chamber for the partially disassembled hand gun and inspected it, satisfied that it had enough adequate charge the silver mech slid it back into its compartment with a sharp snap.

"I tend to forget how meticulous you special ops are when you clean your weapons." The 2IC uttered as he plucked a couple of pieces of another weapon up from the mat and inspected them, it was standard issue but had been modified to meet Jazz's requirements as a field agent. The black and white mech picked up a spare rag and began cleaning the parts he had hold of.

"Yea well just like you tactic bots, we ops mechs like ta keep our back up guns clean an' our blades sharp just in case." Jazz replied as he lightly brushed the underside of his thumb over the sharp edge of one of his energon blades, he didn't flinch even the dagger sliced easily through the top most layer of his plating drawing a little energon.

"Hmm." Prowl simply hummed in response as he began reassembling the small handgun before handing it back to his spark-mate. The saboteur quickly sub-spaced the weapon as he allowed a small smile to tug at his lip components, he knew that his mate's previous occupation in the security forces provided him with intimate knowledge in regards to weapons since dissembling and reassembling them had been part of his training.

"So what pulled ya out of tactical since ya been pretty much bonded ta ya job after we came on board?" The 3IC inquired as he leant back on his hands and tilted his horned helm in the direction of his bonded.

The tactician vented a sigh out of his intakes "I became particularly bored about being informed that the margin of error is still at naught point three percent."

"Then we should have no problem in getting' Blue back." Jazz replied although he didn't sound all that convinced.

Prowl frowned as he reached for one of his mate's clawed hands "Jazz ..."

"I just … I have a bad feelin' about this Prowl, somethin's just not right." The saboteur responded as he slotted his other energon blade he had set down on the floor in front of him, into a compartment on his left thigh. He had learned long ago that it wasn't worth having one too many weapons integrated into his arms as there was every high possibility that they could be severed from his frame, not that his legs couldn't be either.

"I know." The tactician said as he smoothed a thumb over silver knuckles whilst he sent comforting and reassuring thoughts over the bond.

The 3IC gave his mate a small smile in return "I just hope out back up plan doesn't have to come into effect."

"As do I but if it must, we have to trust him explicitly." The 2IC replied.

"I know." Jazz said echoing his bonded's words from moments ago "although I hope we don't have too."

"Hmm." The black and white mech simply hummed in response, his gaze firmly set upon the navy blue training mat beneath him. Prowl knew that both of his plans which he had worked on diligently since the moment they had discovered the Decepticons location, were required to be followed through meticulously in order to get the desired result; the successful rescue of his and Jazz's sparkling and to prevent whatever plan Megatron had in place. The tactician vented a small sigh, he missed his beautiful and exuberant creation with every ounce of his being, and he was keenly aware of the fact that his mate's thoughts echoed his own. The 2IC knew that the creation and the subsequent rearing of a sparkling whilst the war was still taking up precedence in their lives, was never going to be an easy task. After all they had already experienced the struggles of bringing up a young life during the war, and although the black and white would have preferred that Bluestreak been born during peace time rather than a build up to another skirmish with the Decepticons. The sparkling had been a welcomed distraction not too mention a new beacon of hope that their species were not destined for extinction, however they all knew that if Megatron had his way the Cybertronian culture as a whole would be wiped out and replaced with brutality; a world that no infant should be brought up in.

_::/All hands to battle stations, I repeat all hands to battle stations.\\::_ Red Alert broadcasted across the PA system, both Jazz and Prowl glanced at one another briefly. The pair of them knew that this was truly the moment which would decide whether they would succeed in pulling off a search and rescue mission, or lose their son to whatever diabolical scheme Megatron had in store for him. The saboteur and the tactician pushed themselves up from the floor and made their way out of the training room, although the second the pair of them crossed the threshold, the 2IC gripped one of his spark-mate's arms turning him round to face him.

The silver mech glanced at him curiously, a small questioning frown upon his facial plates "Prowl?"

"Promise me you'll come back to me safely … both of you." The tactician replied as he cupped one side of his mate's helm and smoothed a thumb over a defined cheek arch.

"Ya know I'll do ma best ta bring Blue back safe an' sound." The saboteur told him as he gave his bonded a small reassuring smile, although the pair of them knew that the success of the sabotage and rescue mission depended upon the strategic battle plans that the others had been briefed with working flawlessly. However they were both aware that not every plan created was infallible as there was always that minute chance that something could go wrong especially since Bluestreak was virtually incapable of defending himself.

"I know you will." Prowl murmured to his bonded as their fore-helms touched with a soft clink "just don't do anything too reckless."

A small chuckle wormed its way out of Jazz's vocaliser "Me reckless? Never, stupid maybe." The good natured jibe helped ease some of the tension that had been building in their frames, after all the tactician was fully aware of the fact that his spark-mate had a tendency to replace all logic in a situation with recklessness or spontaneous behaviour, that although sometimes got the job done, tended to attract the wrong kind of attention and either ended up with his mate captured, or returning home with a few dents or scrapes. But it was a trait of Jazz's he knew he could never change, but the black and white was concerned that the saboteur's rationality might be pushed to one side where this mission was concerned. However he trusted his mate explicitly and the team that served under him to pull the mission off without any problems. The silver mech allowed one of his clawed hands to rest upon his spark-mate's chest armour right above his spark chamber, Jazz gave his bonded a small smile and a gentle pat of his clawed hand before he made his way down the corridor, although not without throwing Prowl a brief salute then he disappeared around the corner.

In all honesty the saboteur was feeling down right anxious and apprehensive about the mission he was going to undertake, but he knew he had to push those unnecessary thoughts and emotions aside especially when he needed his mind clear and focused. The 3IC strode through the interconnecting corridors, communicating with his team to meet him in the hangar bay as planned. As the silver mech made his way through the transports hallways, he could pick out the subtle changes in the ship's engines pitch and tone that possibly indicated that the Ark was currently being steered into the moon's shadow in order to conceal it from the Nemesis' sensors. A small slither of doubt continued to niggle at his circuits the closer he got to the hangar bay, a part of him refused to believe that this mission was going to go smoothly as nothing ever did unless he got extremely lucky, but even those occasions were extremely rare. The saboteur hastily shoved it to the back of his mind as he pressed forward and covered the last several metres to the hangar bay where he and his team would be launching from in their transitional modes. The 3IC palmed the pad on the wall and the doors slid open, he stepped inside and was immediately met with the sight of his small special ops team stood in the centre of the bay, each of them looking decidedly different now that they had shed their terrestrial alt. modes and converted back into their protoforms. He particularly had to take another look at Bumblebee who no longer had the door wings sprouting from his back, a sight he had gotten quite use to seeing the past four years.

"Ready?" Jazz asked as he glanced at each of them in turn. Hound, Mirage and Bumblebee dipped their helms once in confirmation "alright let's move out."

"Not without me you're not." Rumbled a voice from behind the group, the saboteur turned to see the black and white figure of Barricade striding across the hangar bay floor. The 3IC was about to open his mouth plates and tell the shock trooper exactly what he thought about that idea, however Barricade simply held up a single clawed hand to silence him "admit it, you'll need my expertise when it comes to making your way through the Nemesis and disabling the ship's primary systems."

"Jazz." Mirage growled lowly to his leader as he fixed a glare in the shock trooper's direction whilst both Bumblebee and Hound couldn't help but throw suspicious looks at the black and white mech.

Jazz held up a single clawed hand to prevent any further protest from his team as he stepped closer to Barricade "Alright fine, but if ya should step one inch outta line, I won't hesitate to shoot ya, is that clear?"

"Perfectly." The shock trooper rumbled in a low almost menacing tone, his gaze never wavering.

The saboteur held Barricade's gaze a while longer before stepping away from the shock trooper in order to begin the decompression cycle, the black and white mech glanced at each of the Autobots but simply shrugged off the glares they were casting in his direction. Barricade cast them one last dark look then turned his attention to the hangar bay doors as they parted and rolled back into the bulkheads, his external sensors immediately detected the dramatic change in temperature and pressure as the room was equalised with the cold conditions of space. The shock trooper detected the soft footfalls of the saboteur behind him before the 3IC appeared next to him. The silver mech cast the ex-con a sideways glance then gestured for his team to move out, the black and white mech watched as the rest of the agents launched themselves into space before he took the brief run towards the exit then launched himself into space, immediately activating his propulsion system that would propel him the seemingly short distance from the Ark to the moon's surface. Barricade was well aware of Jazz closing in from behind before the saboteur overtook him, his trajectory a clear cut forward descent. The shock trooper found it strange how the Autobots always confined themselves to ground bound vehicle modes when they landed planet-side (well the majority of them anyway since there had been a rare few capable of flight), yet in space they were easily capable of flight although he had to admit none of them compared in the capabilities of what the fliers exhibited.

Barricade began to ponder over his reason for wanting to join the Autobot's special ops team on their mission, he couldn't quite decide whether it was because a small part of him felt the need to rejoin the Decepticons if only briefly just so he could deliver a royal aft kicking to Starscream after what had transpired during their last encounter. Not that he really needed to, he could quite easily locate the slagger once the skirmish that was meant to distract the enemy began and focus his efforts on returning the favour. Many of the Autobots suspected that the vicious attack inflicted upon the shock trooper was a part of a plan to plant the black and white mech their ranks. Barricade had simply shrugged off the rumours since he knew how paranoid the Autobots could be after their past experiences with having Decepticon infiltrators slip into their ranks and causing the same amount of hassle the Autobot's special ops agents did. The shock trooper knew that if he decided to take the opportunity to return to the Decepticons now, that it wouldn't be out of sense of loyalty mainly due to the fact that many of his ideals had certainly changed since his incarceration. That was if he wanted to rejoin them, he certainly had no ties to the Autobots, well except for his little brother who still treated him with that small amount of suspicion but had somewhat accepted him back, something he knew Smokescreen would never had done if the mech had still been online. Not that he could blame him after his past behaviour, however a small part of him wished he could win back that unfathomable trust his younger sibling had once placed in him before the war had torn apart their planet, and their race.

Barricade knew much of the reason of why he had joined the special ops team on their mission into the Nemesis, was also largely due to his oath he had given to protect his young nephew Bluestreak from harm at all costs. However he had to admit that he was curious as to the reason why Megatron had taken the bitlet hostage as despite the claims that he might be a remnant of the once powerful Allspark, there was no real purpose for them to take him. Well unless of course the Decepticons had discovered a way to regenerate the cube. How? he had no idea since there had never been anything like that described in the archives. The shock trooper was drawn out of his thoughts when he felt the distinct change of air temperature and pressure upon his external plating and sensors as he entered the moon's thin atmosphere, he also took note of how the Autobots who were just ahead of him seemed to disappear off his HUD despite the fact that he could clearly see them with his optical sensors. The black and white mech knew that the four of them had activated some kind of scattering field to throw off the Decepticons perimeter sweeps, a technique he found quite interesting but downright frustrating when trying to track down wayward special ops agents whether they were Autobot or Decepticon.

Finally after a brief and rather uneventful flight down to the moon's surface, Barricade deactivated his propulsion system and landed upon the rocky surface shortly after the Autobot special ops team. The black and white mech watched as the small team of Autobots headed immediately over to an outcrop of rocks several metres from the large menacing shape of the Nemesis, naturally he followed after them since he didn't want them to become suspicious of his possible motives of wanting to be there.

Jazz waited for the last of his team to assemble near the small outcrop including the unexpected addition better known as Barricade, who was currently stood at the rear of the group, crimson optics clearly focused upon the dark outer hull of the battleship.

"Alright mechs ya know ya roles, we've got an hour ta get ta get in an' ta get out 'fore th' strike teams move in." The saboteur told his team, his visor sweeping over the three of them crouched not too far from him before his gaze settled upon the silent form that almost blended into their dark surroundings "Barricade you're ta join 'Bee an Mirage." Both the scout and the spy glanced at their leader in both shock and anger, after all they were positively sure that the shock trooper's intentions about this mission were less than honourable. The blue and white mech made certain Jazz was well aware of his opinion on the matter through a short data burst on a secure comm. frequency, but the saboteur simply shot him down and told Mirage directly that they needed Barricade's expertise regarding the Nemesis' systems; especially if they wanted to pull this mission off quickly and efficiently. The 3IC glanced at the shock trooper and received a nod of confirmation from the mech, Jazz held his gaze a moment longer before turning back to his team "alright mechs let's move out." Both Mirage and Bumblebee left the safety of the outcropping and crept toward the dark hulking mass of the Nemesis, Barricade shared one last glance with the saboteur before he stalked after the scout and the spy like a silent predator. The silver mech sat back against the rocky wall, he would give the first team five minutes to get inside the battleship before he and Hound made their move.

Speaking of the tracking specialist, Jazz glanced at the primarily green mech to see a concerned look upon his facial plates "Alright mech what's eatin' at ya diodes?"

"There's something not quite right about all of this." Hound replied as he crouched beside his team leader "by all accounts Barricade shouldn't even be joining us on this mission."

"I know mech, but he had a point, he has intimate knowledge of th' Nemesis somethin' we can't really afford ta pass up." The saboteur said as he scanned their surroundings for any sign of activity.

"I just hope your decision to let him stay doesn't come back to bite you in the aft." The tracking specialist told him as he checked the charge on his small hand held weapon.

The silver mech vented a small sigh as he removed a sniper rifle from his sub-space "Same here mech, same here." Jazz made one more sweep with his visor and his sensors before he turned to the green mech "looks like its our turn, c'mon." Hound nodded in confirmation before following the saboteur out from under the outcropping and across the short distance of the moon's surface as they headed toward the Nemesis.

* * *

**Ark ….**

Prowl was hardly ever an impatient mech, in fact most of the Autobots knew he had an almost infinite amount of patience, well one had to when dealing with the antics of the twins every other day, and had Jazz as a bond-mate. However right now the tactician was nothing more than a picture of apprehension and worry that something was about to go wrong; especially when he learned from Red Alert that Barricade had left the Ark with the special ops team, an unprecedented variable he had not accounted for. With that knowledge about his brother, his anxiety only grew worse for the safety of his spark-mate and his team. He pondered briefly whether the shock trooper was using this opportunity to return to the Decepticons? If that was the case then both the mission and the special ops team were at risk of failure and being captured by the enemy. Or did Barricade have another agenda as to why he had tagged along with Jazz and his team? There were so many possibilities and variables that Prowl actually felt the beginnings of a processor ache brewing, something he simply did not need at that current moment of time.

The tactician was fully aware of both Optimus and Ironhide watching him as he paced back and forth across the command deck of the Ark, he knew that the pair of them were anxious like he was although the black and white mech understood that the weapons specialist was particularly twitchy about getting out and taking down a few Decepticons. However despite the original plan being that they lead an attack whilst the special ops team were inside the Nemesis, a recalculation of the mission success rate made him rethink his previous plans and had communicated his intentions to those who would be involved in the field of combat. Which now meant they would give the special ops team an hour to get in and get out, and to complete their mission before they decided to create a 'distraction'. He just hoped that Mirage had been right about the time estimate the Decepticons had before the repairs on board the Nemesis were completed or they were seriously going to run into some problems, particularly when it came to disabling the battleship.

The 2IC knew the bond between him and Bluestreak had strengthened since they had arrived in orbit of the moon, but he didn't dare reach out to his son in fear the sparkling might give away their presence. After all if the infant's mood changed in anyway then someone was bound to notice, someone probably or most definitely being Starscream since intelligence brought back by Mirage informed him that the Decepticon 2IC was in charge of caring for Bluestreak's needs. Prowl's sensory panels flickered at that thought as he continued to pace without pausing, his hard cobalt gaze still fixated upon the main screen. He knew the only reason his son was in the Raptor's care was largely due to the fact Starscream was Vosian and the ancient protocols were borderline ordering him to protect the infant at all costs, very much like his own Praxian protocols had done the instant Bluestreak had been born and still were. The tactician also knew that Starscream was a scientist at spark and Bluestreak was certainly a scientific mystery after everything that had happened, even Skyfire had expressed his curiosity since it had been a long time that a sparkling had been sparked by the Allspark or by a bonded pair, but he had happily settled with the notes Ratchet gave him regarding the infant's development (that was after he had gained both Prowl's and Jazz's permission of course, as they too were just as curious about their creation).

"Kid you're gonna wear a hole in the deck plating at the rate you're going." Ironhide muttered which drew the 2IC out of his thoughts. Prowl simply flicked his sensory panels as if to say 'and? You're point being? before resuming his pacing, although not before he spotted Sideswipe flicking an energon blade up into the air and catching it (a clear indicator that he was bored), whilst his brother threw him a disapproving look.

"Are you alright Prowl?" Optimus inquired softly as he stepped up beside the black and white mech.

The tactician vented a sigh out of his intakes as he ended his pacing and stood with his arms folded across his chest, although his sensory panels refused to stop twitching much to his annoyance "I'm fine Sir." However he was far from fine, in fact he was downright anxious about how all of this was going to play out in the long run if this mission wasn't successful. From the corner of his optic he could see his commander frown slightly, but the Prime didn't say anything as he turned his attention back to the main view screen. The 2IC glanced at his commander and could see the tension within his leader's powerful frame, and understood that the burden of command had to be weighing heavily upon the Prime's shoulder struts. After all Optimus had to think about the crew's safety in this venture since they all knew that the Decepticons were not going to retreat easily; not this time. Prowl also understood that his CO held the decision that could mean life or death for his sparkling as they could not expect nor force their own troops to sacrifice their lives for one infant, although the tactician knew many of them would readily lay down their lives for Bluestreak particularly the twins, and most likely Ironhide who especially had a soft spot for sparklings despite his gruff exterior.

Suddenly the tactician was drawn out of his thoughts when the emergency klaxon sounded throughout the command centre, within seconds the bridge erupted into motion as the bots filling the various posts began pulling up status reports and relaying information to one another. Although the 2IC didn't need to be told what was happening as the sudden surge of trepidation exploded across the bond he shared with Jazz, he nearly stumbled under the onslaught, however a clawed hand grasped his chest plates whilst a startled gasp escaped him. Prowl could hear Optimus ordering the strike teams into action just as the first plasma rounds from the Decepticons slammed into the Ark's forward shields. The tactician found himself rooted to the spot whilst everyone else rushed to their posts. Had one of the special ops teams been spotted despite their infamous record for never being discovered? Or had something more sinister occurred he mused as he shook himself out of his reverie and removed his rifle from sub-space, he began barking orders across the comm. lines as he headed toward the hangar bay where the teams would assemble before they disembarked. Either way the rescue mission had just become marginally more complicated and now he was faced with the possibility of not only losing his son but his spark-mate as well if the plans he had devised earlier didn't allow them to push through the enemies front-line and rescue those trapped aboard the Nemesis.

Prowl strode into the hangar bay although he had to step aside when he was nearly stomped on by a pair of overzealous twins as they rushed into the hangar, the two of them looking positively gleeful that they were finally seeing combat. Well Sideswipe did more than his brother, Sunstreaker managed to look that slightly more reserved but there was still a murderous glint in his optics. The tactician snorted in disapproval as he made his way over to where Optimus was currently stood with Ironhide as they waited for the large doors to roll back into the bulkheads, he knew with the twins past history of taking part in the brutal gladiatorial pits back in Kaon where they had mercilessly crippled and torn mechs apart in a sadistic game to please the crowds, that some of their more volatile nature hadn't been lost at all as it tended to rear its ugly head during battles and skirmishes. Both Sunstreaker and Sideswipe always used every trick they knew of in the book to bring down their enemy regardless of how much damage they incurred in the process.

Ironhide was another who showed no remorse when it came to battling the Decepticons and Prowl knew that it was primarily due to the fact the weapons specialist had very much disapproved of Megatron's ideals and his vision of the future for their kind during the very early days of the war. That wasn't the only thing that turned him bitter, the black mech had seen many innocent lives slaughtered without mercy as the battles between them and the Decepticons turned more violent, and became far more creative in their attempts to destroy each other. The other Autobots all had their own reasons for wanting to take down the other faction and chase any last pockets of resistance into the far corners of the galaxy. The tactician knew that many of them had originally been scientists and hard working labourers before they were nearly forced into fighting an alien race who had attacked them without reason, despite the fact none of them were exactly built for combat unlike their military and security forces; a disadvantage that had crippled them for years before the mechs and femmes armour were upgraded to battle standard, or at least reinforced enough so they could take a few hits without being terminated.

"C'mon there's some Decepticons down there I want to turn into scrap metal." Ironhide hissed in impatience.

"Easy old friend." Optimus rumbled, taking note of the older mech's uneasiness before he glanced across the hangar. The Prime watched as those assigned to take to the field began prepping their weapons for combat before his gaze fell upon the black and white form of his 2IC as he made his way over. He vented a deep sigh out of his intakes catching the attention of his weapons specialist who quirked a single optic ridge at him, Optimus gestured with a simply tilt of his helm in the direction of Prowl and a look of understanding made its way onto the black mech's facial plates. After all they had discussed between them on their way down to the hangar bay, that it would be best if the tactician were to remain on board the Ark and direct the battle from there as they were already risking too much with Jazz already being down on the moon's surface. The Prime met his 2IC's gaze, knowing that this would be one decision he had decided upon that the black and white mech would not agree with at all "Prowl I think it would be best if you were to remain behind."

The tactician's sensory panels twitched upon his back whilst a frown marred his facial plates "Sir I refuse to remain on board the Ark when my mate and child are down there, besides if I stay we will only have one sharp shooter out on the battlefield and quite frankly we'll need two to provide extra backup for our ground troops."

The Prime vented a deep sigh out of his intakes "I'm only concerned about the delicate situation of how you might behave should anything happen to Bluestreak, I was reluctant about allowing Jazz down to the moon's surface to complete his mission, and I only permitted it at your insistence that he and his team were capable of pulling it off."

"I understand your concerns sir, but I need to be down there however I will respect your decision if you order me to remain behind." Prowl told his leader, although he was none too happy about that idea in the slightest.

Ironhide cast the tactician a sideways glance "You'll be lucky to keep him on board, the fraggin' glitch will only find a way to get down to the moon's surface anyway."

A snort of amusement left the Autobot leader "Very true." He held his 2IC's gaze for a brief moment before he glanced across the hold, the others were all holding positions at the lip of the exit ramp watching as plasma rounds impacted against the shields, no doubt gauging the timing between bursts so they could leave the Ark's shields without being struck on the way down. Optimus glanced back at Prowl, their gazes meeting once again "alright I'll allow you into the field but on one condition; do not take any unnecessary risks, I'm fully aware that both your mate and child are down there however I cannot afford to lose either of you."

"I understand sir." The tactician replied stiffly. He knew that if the battle if did turn sour that one life wasn't worth saving at the risk of so many others, however the black and white refused to contemplate the thought of abandoning his son under any circumstances. Prowl understood that if the order came down to it, it certainly would be one that Optimus would struggle with tremendously as the Prime valued life, and to order for the abandonment of a life so young was definitely not an easy one to make as the Autobot leader would most likely come up against opposition from his own troops. The tactician met his commander's gaze for a brief moment and noticed the knowing look upon his facial plates as Optimus understood that Prowl would do anything in order to get his child back regardless of any risk.

"Alright let's move out." The Prime ordered as he strode across the hangar to the open bay doors, the twins didn't even wait for their leader to launch before they leapt out of the hangar and steered themselves in the direction of the moon's surface miles below them. Nor did any of the others in fact as they too followed Sunstreaker's and Sideswipe's example of transforming into their transitional modes and directing themselves towards Rhea.

"Looks like they ain't waitin for you Prime." Ironhide pointed out before he too took the leap out of the Ark.

"So it seems." Optimus grumbled, although he didn't seem offended by what his fellow Autobots had done since it was only natural for them to protect their Prime. Although he figured much of their eagerness to reach the moon's surface was simply to beat the scrap out of the Decepticons, not that he could blame them. The Autobot leader straightened his large frame as his cobalt blue optics settled upon the ringed planet not far from the moon, he took in a deep intake of air to calm his slightly anxious systems. Optimus knew within a few moments as he launched from the transport ship with Prowl not far behind him, that he could quite possibly if not definitely be locked in another battle of wills or a fight to the death with Megatron, an inevitable outcome regardless of what path he took.

* * *

**Nemesis – Beta team ….**

Bumblebee had infiltrated many Decepticon bases back on Cybertron in order to gather Intel. on the enemy, but this time something just didn't seem right at all with this mission. He knew Prowl and Jazz had meticulously worked on the details and ironed out as many of the flaws as possible so the success rate was ninety five percent, however he couldn't quite shake the notion that this mission was doomed to fail somehow. Normally during the course of his missions, the bases had always been crawling with 'cons whether insect size or heavy hitters going about their duties or brawling amongst themselves. However the Nemesis was about as quiet as a mortuary which didn't help the nervous tension that was currently running through his frame, the young scout knew that Mirage was also slightly apprehensive about this mission although he wasn't quite showing it as much as the yellow mech was. To make matters worse, it certainly didn't help when the silent shadow better known as Barricade was trailing behind them, his presence dark and foreboding not too mention a clear reminder of exactly where they were.

Bumblebee briefly glanced over his left shoulder as he slowly approached a junction in the corridor, his gaze meeting Mirage's cold and unwavering one before he glanced at the shock trooper, the black and white mech's crimson gaze was currently focused upon the dark corridor before them. Bumblebee couldn't understand why Barricade had decided to join their small ops team on this mission since it was pretty much a 'get in, get out without being discovered kind of gig (as Jazz would call it), unless and the yellow bot couldn't help the thought cross his mind as he scanned the corridor ahead of them, that the shock trooper was waiting to pick the right moment to betray them. The black and white mech had never given them a clear reason as to why he had defected, if he had at all. After all the severe beating he had received from Starscream could have easily been a potential cover to slip an infiltrator into their ranks and glean whatever information he could from them. Bumblebee knew both Prowl and Jazz trusted Barricade, although he wasn't sure by how much or why they did. He couldn't understand however why his team leader had placed so much faith and trust in the shock trooper although knowing the saboteur like he did, the 3IC was probably using the ex-con for his own ends such as being able to pull off this mission quickly and swiftly by having Barricade show them the way down to engineering.

Speaking of the department they were currently heading to was just a few levels down from them, however they wouldn't be taking any of the inter-connecting corridors any more since the risk of being discovered was now beginning to climb the closer they got. The scout glanced briefly at Mirage again in time to see the spy curt his helm in a silent gesture for the yellow mech to move forwards, Bumblebee dipped his head in acknowledgement before he wrapped his left hand around the emergency latch and pulled, the air tight seal hissed as it was breached then the door slid open and rolled back into the bulkhead. The scout scanned the tube ahead of them before moving cautiously into it, he really hated maintenance tubes as they always tended to be crawling with small drones, although they barely had enough sentience between them to light a light bulb let alone tell from friend or foe. Then there was the aching knee joints and spinal struts, but then again any bot thought he would use to this by now since Jazz had a nasty habit of running them through numerous simulations that involved crawling through maintenance tubes such as these. Bumblebee knew it was their team leader's way of ensuring they were fully prepared for this kind of situation since the saboteur had an uncanny knack for wanting to make sure nothing was left to chance. The scout figured much of the influence had come from Prowl with the tactician's insistence that the margin of error for a mission was less than three percent. The scout was drawn out of his thoughts when he finally reached the end out of the crawl space, he shifted to sit on his aft then manoeuvred out of the tube. Bumblebee moved out onto the small platform and stepped around the opening that had been purposely built into the deck plate which would allow access to the lower levels. Both Mirage and Barricade climbed out of the crawl space and stepped onto the platform.

"We're almost there, engineering is a couple of levels down." The shock trooper told them as he gestured to the ladder next to Bumblebee with clawed fingers. The scout and the spy couldn't help but glance at him suspiciously as they checked their own blueprints, however the black and white mech simply gave them an indifferent look. Bumblebee spared Mirage a glance, knowing full well that the spy shared his sentiments about the ex-con; and that was neither of them were prepared to trust him at any cost. The scout glanced at Barricade briefly before proceeding down the ladder and then into the maintenance tube once he had reached the right level. Bumblebee could feel his earlier apprehension beginning to grow exponentially the close they got to the engineering section. There was this growing sense of dread that something completely unexpected was going to happen and not for the best either, he attempted to share his views with Mirage but the spy simply told him to keep radio silence since there was no assurances that Soundwave wasn't listening into their comm. frequency despite how heavily encrypted it was.

Finally the exit came up and scout slid out of the maintenance tube and onto the catwalk once the doors had slid open, he crouched down upon the thick metal mesh and glanced over the edge. The Nemesis' engineering was eerily lit by the glow of monitors as they tracked the progress of primary, secondary and backup systems, and kept them regulated. Then there was the green glow from the transwarp core that cast long shadows across the engine room, Bumblebee easily spotted several maintenance drones that would prove to be no hindrance to them, but the two large Sentinel drones certainly would be. The scout heard a small noise of disapproval come from Mirage, a small frown worked its way onto his facial plates before he glanced over his shoulder in order to see what had aggravated the spy, only to see Barricade disappear over the catwalk, drop to the deck plates with a soft thud before he disappeared into the shadows.

"If he screws this mission up, remind me to have a long conversation with Meister, that is after I've turned the 'con into scrap metal." The blue and white mech growled as the pair of them watched Barricade easily step past the maintenance drones, and make his way over to the unsuspecting Sentinel droids.

"I think you'll find yourself in a queue if Optimus finds out Jazz allowed Barricade to join the team." Bumblebee responded as he glanced at Mirage or rather past him as he didn't particularly want to watch the shock trooper give away their presence on board the Nemesis. The scout felt his entire frame tense in the anticipation of hearing the alarm sounding them out, but it never came surprisingly enough.

"Are the two of you planning to come down at any stage, or are you hoping that this mission will complete itself?" The black and white mech called up to them, his crimson gaze harsh and unwavering. The spy grumbled something lowly in Cybertronian before he slipped over the edge and dropped down onto the deck plating, Bumblebee following a few moments later. The yellow mech stepped around the maintenance drones that were clicking amongst themselves as they worked on disassembling the off-lined frames of the larger drones, then dumping their remains down one of the refuse chutes.

"Controls for primary systems are over there, we have to work quickly as Shockwave will notice the lack of those slagging things in this area." Barricade told them as he gestured to one of the large control panels on his right, Mirage gave the shock trooper a suspicious look as he stepped around the black and white mech and made his way over to the aforementioned console where he began hacking into the battleship's systems "the controls that regulate the power couplings to the core are this way."

Bumblebee felt the growing sense of dread scale it up a notch as he followed the shock trooper across the engineering section to where the transwarp core was situated. The scout peered over the edge and into the narrow and eerily lit pit below him, the space was narrow and barely big enough to fit a mech his size down there, but then again he knew the area was designed mainly for the maintenance drones to access. Bumblebee hesitated at the lip of the ladder that descended into the pit as he met Barricade's cold and unwavering stare, the scout found himself contemplating whether he should trust the shock trooper at all. However Bumblebee knew time was of the essence as both his team leader and the rest of the Autobots needed the Nemesis' primary systems disrupted so they could distract the Decepticons and rescue the very reason they were there in the first place. The scout pushed all of his concerns to the back of his processor as he proceeded down the ladder, within moments he was stepping onto the narrow catwalk and grumbling silently to himself about the lack of manoeuvrability. Bumblebee was fully aware of where Barricade was currently positioned above him, and couldn't help the sense of vulnerability he was now experiencing since he was pretty much trapped in the narrow space.

"The main control panel for the power couplings is down on your left, you'll have to make it quick, we're looking at a two minute window at the most unless of course security is already on its way down." The shock trooper told the scout drawing the yellow mech out of his thoughts. Bumblebee awkwardly knelt down and pried off the panel concealing the components beneath, the scout scanned the display before he set to work on disrupting the power flow to the newly repaired transwarp core. Bumblebee worked quickly and efficiently as he could despite the fact sabotage wasn't exactly apart of his repertoire, however it didn't seem he had worked fast enough as the intruder alert sounded throughout the ship.

"Frag." The scout hissed to himself as he debated on whether he should complete his task or not.

"Oh yes, double frag indeed." Came a growled response from above.

Bumblebee twisted up onto his peds as his blue optics briefly met sinister crimson ones before they trailed to land upon the plasma rifle the black and white mech was holding "Barricade what the ….?" The scout was about to inquire as he watched the shock trooper aim the rifle directly at him, then he heard the distinct whine of a weapon charging before being fired. A startled gasp escaped Bumblebee's vocaliser as the plasma round hit him square in the chest plates before his entire world faded into the inky blackness of unconsciousness.

* * *

_A/N: Mwhahahaha how many of you saw that coming? Lol. I'll try and get part two done as quickly as possible but no promises._

_Review please!_


	23. Assault and betrayal Part 2

_I would have had this chapter out sooner if RL hadn't stuck its awkward sorry ass foot in the way, and the plot bunnies didn't decide to desert me at the last minute *shakes fist* Anyway I especially wanna thank **optimusprime 007**, **sounddrive**, **Shizuka Taiyou, ChaosGarden, renegradewriter8, CNightJoy, Kick-Aft, Daklog73 **and **Jazz935 for the reviews, **and to everyone whose put this as their favourites or onto their alert list!_

_**Warnings:** Use of profanities, angst, implications of violence, slight gore, brief mention of events that occurred in **Defiance**_

_**Disclaimer**: Not mine, I just toy with with them and hand them back in less than pristine condition._

_'Blah' – thoughts_

_::Blah:: - Radio Communication_

_:/blah\: - Inter. comm._

_::/Blah\\:: Bond communication_

"_Blah" - Inter-dimmensional speech_

_{Blah} – Cybertronian speech_

* * *

**Nemesis – Alpha Team ….**

Jazz could feel his spark pulsing erratically and his fuel pump beating wildly the closer they drew to Starscream's lab deep inside the Nemesis. The saboteur had already berated himself numerous times about his almost rookie like behaviour as he and Hound steadily made their way through the eerily lit inter-connecting corridors which seemed to be more of a maze than an interior of a ship. Luckily enough Barricade had been rather forthcoming about handing over schematics to the Nemesis, or Jazz was certain that both he and the tracking specialist would have doubled back on themselves already and run into unwanted company. The saboteur frowned as he glanced around a corner to see if the way was clear, there was something about the shock trooper that he couldn't quite put his finger on, especially more so after the mech requested to go with Mirage and Bumblebee to disable the ship's primary systems. The 3IC couldn't help stop the sensation from gnawing at his internals that something was going to go drastically wrong as he slid round the corner and proceeded down the corridor, he knew usually his instincts were never wrong which only increased his anxiety he was already feeling to new levels.

It was strange how they hadn't encountered any Decepticons as of yet, but Jazz wasn't about to start counting his chances just yet; after all no mistakes could be afforded especially with Bluestreak's very existence on the line. The saboteur glanced over his right shoulder to meet Hound's gaze, the tracking specialist had been particularly quiet during their journey into the Nemesis, well except every now and again when he would give a very brief report on the other teams activities. The silver mech had ordered both Hound and Mirage to keep their bond open partially to keep one another updated as they didn't dare use their comm. links with Soundwave so close by. The Decepticon communications specialist had a very nasty habit of making a mission far more complicated with his knack for detecting foreign signals no matter how inconspicuous they tried to make them look, Jazz almost wished Blaster was here with them as the mech was exceptionally brilliant at jamming signals and keeping their comm. links secure. Although the saboteur reserved bragging rights in being able to hack Decepticon systems flawlessly, and being able to disappear from their sensors entirely.

"Their status is still good." The tracking specialist told him as their gazes met briefly.

"Good let's hope it stays that way." The silver mech replied as he turned his attention back to the forefront when his sensitive audio receptors detected a sound not far from their position, his azure visor scanned the corridor ahead until it fell upon a single maintenance drone scuttling down the hallway toward them. Jazz allowed his systems to settle before he shrunk back into the shadows and watched as the droid passed him by, he was well aware of the fact that the drone was no threat to him in anyway, but he couldn't help be cautious of them as they catalogued everything they came into contact with and no doubt if anyone reviewed their sensor data, they could easily raise the alarm that they had an intruder on board. After all the metal compounds that his armoured plating had been fabricated from was much different from Decepticon armour "right come on let's move." The saboteur stepped out of his hiding place and continued down the corridor.

"Should we be relying upon Barricade's blueprints of the Nemesis as there's some inconsistencies in the schematics?" Hound inquired in a low whisper as he followed his team leader down the hallway, taking note of how easily the 3IC seemed to be able to apply his special ops training to their current situation, although he couldn't help but notice the slight anxiety gripping the silver mech's frame.

Jazz threw a slight disapproving look at the tracking specialist "We have ta whether we want to or not as th' 'cons have made some alterations since our last infiltration." The saboteur understood the green mech's scepticism and suspicion about the blueprints that had been given to them, after all Barricade simply couldn't be trusted in the slightest. The 3IC had seen the way the other Autobots had acted around the shock trooper particularly more so since Bluestreak's kidnapping, they had given him suspicious looks and had avoided him like cosmic rust. The twins and Ironhide had voiced their displeasure about having Barricade amongst them, but both Optimus and Prowl had simply silenced their complaints before sending them on their way. It also didn't help matters when Red Alert's paranoia circuits began fritzing more often than not which only made Ratchet all the more bad tempered. Jazz had to admit he was both curious and suspicious of the shock trooper's motives as Barricade had no absolute reason to join them on this mission, unless and the saboteur couldn't help the sudden apprehension spread through his systems and spark, that the shock trooper could be seriously contemplating the thought of finally returning to the Decepticons. If that was the case then the whole incident of the black and white mech being attacked by Starscream may have been a rouse to throw them off the real reason he was there; to gather as much Intel. on them as possible and deliver it directly into Megatron's claws. The 3IC faltered slightly in his steps as that thought crossed his processor, he could have very well sent Mirage and Bumblebee straight into a trap, and given Barricade the ideal opportunity to defect back to the other side.

Jazz logged onto the Decepticons hub network with ease and quickly checked any sensor information that had been catalogued within the time they had been on board to ensure that none of their presences had been detected, the saboteur also made sure to keep an optic on each of the Decepticons transponders so he could track their individual positions in relation to their own. The silver mech had to bite back a curse when he noticed that there were currently four distinct Decepticon signals inside Starscream's lab, one being the 2IC himself and the other three mechs were simply a few individuals Jazz had no desire to meet any time soon, at least not up close and personal anyway.

"Frag looks like th' front door ain't available ta us, Screamer's got ugly company in there wit' him." The saboteur told Hound before he accessed the ship's blueprints for the location of the nearest maintenance tube hatch, the silver mech could feel the beginnings of a processor ache starting to niggle at the back of his helm; an unfortunate side effect Jazz knew all too well that came with hacking, downloading Intel., and uploading virus' to the enemies mainframe.

The tracking specialist frowned in concern "Ugly company as in his trine-mates? Or ugly company as in Megatron?"

"The latter mech an' he'd got those slaggin' sparkless drones Shockwave an' Soundwave keepin' him company too." The saboteur replied as he scanned the corridor ahead, the maintenance hatch they needed was just around the next corner. However stood between them and the tube was a single sentinel drone, one of Shockwave's particularly nasty toys. The silver mech gestured for Hound to remain where he was for the time being as he slipped round the corner and with silent and predatory steps he closed in on his quarry. It took mere seconds for Jazz to slip the small blade out of the compartment he had concealed it inside of before he plunged it deep into the main energon lines in the drone's throat once he was close enough., he severed them completely with a single swift and skilled flick of his wrist. The drone made a startled whine as its systems immediately went into shut down from the lack of energon being pumped to its processors, the saboteur wasted no time in delving into the main-frame in order to keep the drone's energy signature on a continuous loop as not to arouse suspicion. Jazz hauled the off-line frame back to where he had told Hound to stay put before he dumped it unceremoniously in the particularly dark corner, the saboteur removed a rag from sub-space and wiped the energon off the blade then placed both items back in their respective compartments.

"We better move quickly, th' loops not gonna last fer long." Jazz suggested as he spared the drone one last glance before leading the tracking specialist down to where the maintenance hatch was located. The saboteur wrapped one of his clawed hands around the latch and pulled, the door opened with a hiss as the air tight seal was broken before sliding back into the bulkhead. Jazz crouched down in front of it and scanned the tube checking for any further unfriendlies that stood in their path, however his scans came back clear much to his relief as he didn't particularly want to encounter a sentinel drone or a Decepticon for that matter in such a small crawl space. They were lucky enough to only have two levels to transverse in order to reach Starscream's lab, however it was the return journey the saboteur was not looking forward too especially when he could quite possibly have an armful of squirming sparkling.

The silver mech hoped that the strike team would be able to provide the adequate distraction and cover they would need to make it back to the Ark, however his biggest concern was getting past Megatron, his two sparkless officers and an overprotective not too mention a possibly volatile Starscream. Jazz knew he had several flash bang grenades (which he had squandered from the humans armoury and then modified to suit his needs) in his sub-space, but he neither wanted to temporarily blind his son nor scare him out of his derma-plating either especially after all of the distress he had suffered from being separated from his parents. Either way it was going to be extremely difficult to get the infant out of there when there were only two of them, however the saboteur hoped that the beta team would be able to complete their mission quickly and lend them a servo. Although that niggling feeling had returned once again at the back of his processor as he climbed down a set of ladders and stepped onto the platform, that something was going to happen and this mission was about to take the plunge into the fiery depths of the pit. Both the saboteur and the tracking specialist proceeded into the next maintenance tube which would provide access to a ventilation duct and take them above the silver Raptor's lab. After a few metres of crawling, Jazz located the duct and began prying the bulkhead plating off, he successfully managed to hook his clawed fingers behind the plate and gave a sharp tug to remove it. It came off with a loud squeal that had both mechs cringing, however the saboteur simply pressed on as he set the plate aside and easily make his way into the ventilation duct. It was a narrow crawl space which had Hound cursing lightly under his breath more than once as he tried to ensure that none of his limbs hit the sides of the tube and give away their presence, the silver mech cast the tracking specialist an amused look over his shoulder before he continued forward.

Finally Jazz's sensitive audio receptors detected the harsh and clipped tones of Megatron as they drew closer to Starscream's lab, the saboteur laid down fully upon his front and cautiously crawled over to the vent cover that allowed him to survey the scene below. The silver mech spotted the Decepticon leader straight away, not that he was hard to miss and the sudden phantom pain that seemed to spread throughout his abdomen, a cruel reminder of his last encounter with the silver behemoth. Both Shockwave and Soundwave were stood on either side of him whilst Starscream on the other servo was but a few metres away. However what caught his attention was neither of the four Decepticons, but the single small Autobot sat on his little rump, baby blue optics watching the scene unfold before him with trepidation whilst his stubby sensory panels quivered in their high 'V' formation. Jazz felt his fuel pump skip a beat and his spark clench painfully in its chamber when his visor settled upon the little grey form of his son, he wanted to reach out through the creator/creation bond to reassure and comfort his sparkling, but knew that if he did he was risking his team being discovered; something he couldn't allow to happen. He scanned the infant taking note that he was relatively unharmed however the unusual runes he had discovered upon his child a couple of weeks ago were now glowing a vivid blue and his energy signature had also changed significantly.

The saboteur glanced over his shoulder and gestured to Hound that he could clearly see the four Decepticons directly below him before he accessed his sub-space and removed the flash grenade, he slipped the tip of a clawed fingertip around the pin and was about to pull when he felt an almost incessant tug that compelled him to scan the room for anything that appeared out of the ordinary, then suddenly his azure visor fell upon a strange object not far from Starscream's position. The bronze coloured cube whose distinct energy signature he could feel was laid open with a swirling array of glyphs that he could easily decipher despite the fact they had been written in the language of the Primes, the saboteur felt his spark pulse erratically for a few brief seconds; the layout of the glyphs closely resembled one of the maps he had been compiling for months. Jazz briefly wondered whether Starscream had managed to decode them yet as he knew the flier was more than capable of doing so; after all he had once been a scientist who had devoted much of his time to researching and unlocking secrets of the past before the strange organic creatures began attacking their home world. It was probably that small bit of knowledge that had drawn Megatron down to the Aerial Commander's lab in the first place, if the Decepticon leader's somewhat fragged off body language was anything to go by.

The saboteur knew that if Starscream did have the glyphs decoded and Megatron was now aware of what they meant, then they would have to move quickly in terms of extracting Bluestreak now before it was too late. The silver mech was about to turn and inform Hound of what he knew when he felt it; a strange presence that was both strong and powerful, and he could hear the small voices whispering to him that the presence was dangerous and not too be underestimated under any circumstances. Jazz could feel himself slipping down the connection to the other planes of existence which had formed as a result of the Allspark reigniting his spark, it was along one of those connections where his consciousness brushed against the outer rim of the creature's mind. The saboteur recoiled slightly at the anger and the insatiable need for revenge, however he pressed forward his curiosity getting the better of him, although by doing so he was allowing his defences to drop and the bond to slide open fully. The silver mech was drawn out of the connection quickly when he heard a curious whistle from Bluestreak, Jazz glanced down and watched as baby blue optics glanced up to where he was currently positioned in the ventilation duct, the sparkling immediately began chirping, whistling and clicking in excitement, and the saboteur couldn't help but curse creatively under his breath. Jazz knew in that second Bluestreak had felt his presence as the bond strengthened between them, however the sudden change in the sparkling's behaviour was enough to draw the attention of Megatron and his subordinates.

"Frag we've been made." The saboteur hissed as he attempted to shift round in the narrow crawl space so he had enough room to kick out the vent cover and throw the flash grenade he had in his hand down into the room below. After all there was no point in espionage now that they had been discovered. However just as the silver mech was priming his left foot to kick out the cover, a large clawed servo ripped through the thin metal shaft and wrapped itself around his other ankle. Jazz barely had time to react before he was roughly tugged down through the thin metal plating, the saboteur felt the sharp edges painfully scrape against his armour plates leaving nasty gauge marks in some areas. The small silver mech made a small noise of surprise before it dissolved into a hiss of pain at the stinging sensation that set much of his sensor net on fire, however Jazz didn't have time to contemplate just how much it hurt being dragged through the thin bulkhead when his blue visor met angry if not somewhat surprised crimson optics of Megatron.

"You." The Decepticon leader snarled as red optics narrowed at the Autobot hanging in front of him by his ankle joint. The silver behemoth had to admit he was mildly surprised to see the Autobot he had brutally terminated almost five years ago was here in this room very much alive.

"Good ta see ya too ya ugly fragger." The saboteur bit back as he shot Megatron a dark glare, he could hear Bluestreak kicking up a fuss behind him now that he was in full view of the sparkling. He opened up the bond fully between them and could feel his son's distress at being separated from him and Prowl, and his frustration that no-one was paying him any attention. The 3IC sent as much love, comfort and reassurance as he could through the bond to calm Bluestreak, but all it did was increase the torrent of emotions his creation was feeling. Of course it wasn't helping when Jazz was feeling his own frustration at the situation at hand as he was falling short on ideas on how to escape; well except for one. The saboteur didn't give Megatron the opportunity to retort back a response to the insult made as the saboteur transformed his right arm into his photon cannon and without hesitation shot the Decepticon leader in the face plate. In that instant chaos erupted in the room when the silver behemoth roared in both pain and anger, the smaller silver mech dropped heavily to the floor and immediately opened fire on the other three Decepticons. Hound dropped through the vent cover seconds later and attempted to move over to where Bluestreak was currently sat on his rump 'shouting' whilst his stubby sensory panels trembled almost violently in their sockets, however an overly protective Starscream was stood between him and the sparkling.

"I dare you to try Autobot." The silver Raptor snarled as he flexed clawed fingers, his crimson gaze was harsh and unwavering.

The tracking specialist heard his team leader curse loudly behind him and knew immediately that the pair of them were out numbered, particularly more so now that the alert klaxon was sounding which unhelpfully told him that they weren't going to be receiving any back up any time soon. Unless their main strike team were able to break through and lend them a servo, but for now they were on their own and Hound was beginning to suspect that the likelihood of them getting out of there in one piece was increasingly diminishing with every passing second. It didn't stop his fuel pump from racing in his chest plates when the bond opened fully between him and Mirage, and mixed feelings and emotions of anger, surprise and fear was sent through their spark link before the spy opened up a secure comm. frequency.

_::We've been betrayed! Barricade's defected back to the Decepticons and he's taken down Bumblebee.::_ Mirage almost snarled down the line.

_::'Raj don't engage, I repeat don't engage, just get th' slag outta there now an' head back ta th' rendezvous co-ordinates.::_ Jazz ordered his subordinate whilst narrowly avoiding being swiped by large clawed fingers that he knew all too well were capable of tearing him in half.

_::What? You've got to be slaggin' kidding me, I refuse to leave Bumblebee behind.:: _The spy snapped in return.

The saboteur somersaulted out of the way of Megatron's lunge only to put himself in the direct firing line of Shockwave, the plasma round grazed his right side although it still contained enough force to propel him backwards and into the cabinet behind him. The silver mech grunted as he staggered to his peds and tried to quickly shake off the pain coursing through his entire frame, although his right side continued to burn _::Mirage just get th' hell outta there, that's an order.:: _Jazz received no response from the spy as the comm. link between them was terminated, the saboteur knew he was going against the very rule he had made in terms of leaving comrades behind. He also understood there was a high probability that the spy could very well circumvent his orders and try and rescue the scout, the 3IC didn't want to leave the youngling where he was but Mirage was only one mech and there was no way he could reach Bumblebee and pull him to safety when Barricade and now possibly a unit of sentinel drones stood between him and the scout. Although Jazz knew he was being somewhat hypocritical as here he was taking on three mechs easily two/three times his size so he could rescue his son from Megatron's clutches whilst endangering the life of another in the process.

The saboteur was drawn out of his thoughts when he heard Bluestreak scream in distress, the 3IC felt his fuel pump skip a beat whilst his spark pulsed wildly in its chamber when he saw Shockwave pluck the infant none too gently out of the make shift crib by his scruff bar. Jazz refused to allow his son to slip through his fingers again not when he was so close to rescuing him, in his desperation and panic he mustered up enough energy as he could into his magnetic constrictor coils and discharged it in one powerful magnetic burst straight into Megatron's systems. The Decepticon leader stumbled back in both pain and surprise as his internals were knocked out of sink and circuits were overloaded and fused, the saboteur staggered feeling slightly faint but he simply tried to shake it off as right now his main priority was to reach Bluestreak before the scientist moved the sparkling to a new location somewhere deep inside the ship.

However once again something chose to stand in his way and Jazz could feel his temper flaring uncontrollably, his angry gaze settled upon Soundwave's unmovable frame now preventing him from reaching his son. The saboteur wasted no time in throwing the first punch at the communications specialist and was mildly surprised that the blue and white mech was fighting back, Soundwave generally allowed his more than irritating symbionts to fight for him whilst he delved deep into main-frames and stole whatever Intel. he found interesting or important. Which was probably where the glitch had absorbed all the information regarding Circuit Su, Metallikato and Diffusion Katas as he was applying them now as he blocked each of Jazz's vicious attacks. The saboteur pushed as much as he possibly could, he funnelled his anger and frustration onto each of his punches and kicks, feeling the need to render something apart, he was however taken somewhat by surprise when he began breaking through the communications specialist's defences. However channelling that much rage allowed his inner defences to weaken, a rookie mistake that he knew he was about to pay for.

It only took a few seconds for Soundwave to take notice and a few more seconds for the blue and white mech to breach through his first two levels of firewalls and begin attacking his third level, Jazz staggered backwards under the sudden onslaught, one clawed hand immediately reaching up to clutch one side of his helm whilst azure optics narrowed behind his visor. The saboteur gritted his denta as he began pushing back at the intrusion in his systems, he fuelled his defences by redirecting his anger and frustration through the uplink Soundwave had created. The silver mech tried not to be distracted by the skirmish between Hound and Starscream which was quickly falling out of the tracking specialist's favour, Jazz knew that they both needed to get out of there especially now that Megatron was coming back on-line. The saboteur somehow had to find a way of disabling the uplink between him and the communications specialist then try to avoid an extremely foul tempered Decepticon leader who was very likely going to terminate him in the most brutal fashion as possible; not that being torn in half last time hadn't been bad enough. The 3IC knew he had to get himself and Hound out of there and somehow try to track down Shockwave and retrieve Bluestreak without being pursued by Megatron and his merry bunch of fragging glitches.

Jazz threw up every available firewall he had to push Soundwave's intrusion out of his systems, however every time he gained a new advantage, the communications specialist attacked from a new angle hoping to breach the saboteur's usually impenetrable defences. The 3IC felt his energon reserves begin to dip dangerously low and knew that he would not be able to keep up his defences for long, however his saving grace came in a form of a cryptic set of pings through his comm. link. Jazz barely had the chance to adjust his visor settings before the room was shrouded in bright white light, immediately he felt Soundwave retreat from his systems giving him the much needed reprieve that he required to orient himself. The saboteur heard Megatron roar in fury as he stumbled sideways, one arm flailing for anything for him to grab on too whilst Starscream shrieked in anger and lashed out hoping to catch the perpetrator. The 3IC scanned the lab as he moved across the room to Hound's side as the tracking specialist had also been temporarily blinded by the flash grenade, Jazz immediately noticed the air rippling around where the tracking specialist was currently staggering about in time to see Mirage fading into view.

"Its good ta see ya mech." The saboteur told the spy as he took hold of one of Hound's arms. The blue and white mech simply nodded in response as he took hold of the tracking specialist's other arm.

"What the frag was that?" Hound demanded as he was led out of the room, he tried to refocus his optics several times with no success.

Jazz watched Mirage cringe before the saboteur returned his attention to the tracking specialist "Let's just say it was a flashy surprise that's gonna get us terminated by ole Megs when he catches up."

"Great." The green mech mumbled as the three special ops agents rushed down the corridor as best as they could, although Jazz pulled away from the spark bonded pair to take down the sentinel drones that had been sent to either slow them down in their attempt to escape, capture them or terminate them. Of course getting out was marginally harder than getting in especially now that the Nemesis' internal security was on-line, the saboteur knew he had to get the remaining members of his team to their entry point before he could double back and attempt to rescue Bumblebee and Bluestreak. He logged onto the network only to be greeted with the Nemesis' defence systems, however he simply pushed past them as he tried to trace any foreign signals amongst the sea of Decepticon transponders. But he couldn't find any which could only mean that either Bumblebee had been taken off-line or his signal dampener had been activated. It seemed that Mirage picked up on his thoughts as the spy glanced around Hound and fixed his team leader with a concerned look.

"'Raj get Hound to th' extraction point." Jazz told the blue and white mech as he removed one of his small hand guns from sub-space.

"Jazz whatever you plan on doing, don't." Mirage responded sternly, he knew exactly what his superior had in mind and it was completely suicidal.

The saboteur's gaze hardened beneath his visor "I'm not leavin' them here Mirage, this might be th' only chance I'll have ta get ma son back."

"What about Bumblebee? We can' leave him here either." The spy argued back "help me get Hound to the extraction point or at least out of the Nemesis and we'll go back and get them together."

"By then it'll be too late." The 3IC snapped angrily in return, he knew he was thinking selfishly but each of his team-mates were capable of getting themselves out. Bluestreak on he other servo was just an infant who was completely dependant upon someone rescuing him from Decepticon clutches. Internally he berated himself for thinking that was as what right did he have to choose between the lives of his team or the life he had created? In fact he knew that Prowl would tell him the odd of him being able to rescue their son on his own was minuscule, and would no doubt strongly advise against it unless he had the appropriate backup. Jazz couldn't help but want to redirect his anger towards Mirage for even suggesting that they abandon any attempt to rescue Bumblebee and Bluestreak, although he knew there was still time to formulate a retrieval mission before the Decepticons could get any systems that the spy and the scout had managed to disable, back on-line.

"Dammit." He snarled as he clenched one of his hands into a fist and smashed it into the bulkhead opposite him, white hot fury at the unfairness of the situation coursing through his lines. Suddenly Jazz knew that Optimus must have felt the same way he was feeling right now when the Prime had made the harsh decision about leaving Bumblebee behind after the scout had been captured by Sector Seven. Had the Autobot leader contemplated putting their lives at risk to save one individual from the humans clutches? However at that moment in time the saboteur had to push those thoughts aside as he knew that they needed to get out of there urgently "alright let's move." Jazz felt his spark scream in denial at his decision, but he quickly squashed those thoughts before he completely changed his mind on the matter. The saboteur located a weakness in the hull and set a detonation charge that would provide them with a new and quick route to the outside world, both Mirage and Hound took cover behind a bend in the corridor before Jazz joined them. The saboteur clicked the detonator and counted down the measly seconds he had set on the time, the predicted explosion ripped through the section with vibrations that were hard enough to rattle the ship's foundations, debris deadly enough to kill and a raging fireball that looked as though it could have been hotter than a smelter.

The spy glanced around the corner and surveyed the damage from the blast before he settled his gaze upon his team leader, a single optic ridge raised. The saboteur gaze him a small satisfied look that he had caused so much damage in return before he was pushing himself onto his peds. The blue and white mech pulled his spark-mate up onto his feet although his gaze never left Jazz, he could see the tension coiled in the saboteur's frame and knew it would only take one more push and the silver mech would snap. Mirage knew that there was no way he could possibly begin to understand he turmoil that had to be raging through Jazz's systems at the thought of leaving behind not only a member of their tight knit team, but also the young life he had sparked. The spy understood now in that brief moment when his team leader had shot him a dark look after his suggestion, the saboteur blamed him partially for the painful decision he had to make; one Mirage knew Jazz would come to realise soon enough had been the right one. After all the three of them against a ship full of angry Decepticons looking for a team of Autobot infiltrators didn't quite look favourable to them in the slightest. The spy was drawn out of his musings when he heard his team leader curse fluently and violently under his breath before he and Hound were shoved none too gently out through the breach in the hull. And it seemed just in the nick of time as a high yield plasma round missed them all by scant inches and slammed into the ground throwing rock and dust up into the air.

"Looks like butt ugly finally found us." The saboteur grumbled as he picked himself up from the floor, he immediately took cover behind some rocks jutting out of the dirt. The 3IC glanced across to see his two subordinates do the same, and only with a few seconds to spare before Megatron opened fire upon their last position.

"I'm surprised he can see frag all." Hound remarked as he tried to scan his surrounding with his optical sensors, his sight was slowly but surely returning to him although everything was still pretty much a blur. He had to admit he was surprised that Megatron had succeeded in negotiating the Nemesis in pursuit of them especially if his vision was still compromised.

"Might I suggest we run." Mirage pointed out as he watched a furious Megatron rip open a larger breach in the hull of the Nemesis.

Crimson optics flickered between the three of them as the Decepticon leader launched himself out of the battleship, although his gaze quickly settled upon the two special ops agents hiding behind a rock formation on his right. However just as he was about to open fire, a plasma round struck him in the facial plates which sent him stumbling backwards and cursing the smaller silver mech who had just appeared before him, vehemently under his breath.

"Keep him busy." Jazz told Mirage before he threw himself into a sideways roll, barely avoiding a blast from Megatron's fusion cannon, the saboteur skipped and danced out of the way of several shots that could have easily knocked him off-line, not too mention make him easy pickings if he hadn't been quick enough to avoid them.

"What?" The spy demanded, momentarily stunned by what his team leader was asking him. There was simply no way he could possibly keep the behemoth busy enough so Jazz could make his way back into the Nemesis, unless they were going to receive inside help. A low growl escaped Mirage at that thought as he rolled out from behind the rock, instructing Hound to provide cover fire as he went in for the attack. He was beginning to suspect there was more going on than met the optic since escaping from Barricade in the engineering section had been far too easy. The shock trooper hadn't even flicked a single finger in his direction which was surprising after he had shot Bumblebee, the spy had half expected a fist fight but Barricade had simply given him the same cold calculating look Prowl often wore when about to deliver a lecture before a unit of sentinel drones arrived forcing Mirage to retreat. The spy knew that the saboteur was well known for never playing by the rules, let alone carry out one of Prowl's strategies especially if he saw an opportunity he could exploit which led him to believe both Jazz and Barricade had some sort of back up plan.

"Come here maggots." The Decepticon leader snarled as he tried to snare at least one of the two Autobot special ops agents with his long clawed fingers, however both easily skipped out of his reach so he flicked back to his flail and swung the weapon toward the pesky Autobot on his left.

Mirage cursed under his breath as Megatron swung his large and lethal flail toward him, the blue and white mech easily dodged the swing and fired a few rounds into the Decepticon leader's thick armour. That was the real difference between special ops graded armour and a heavy hitter's plating, theirs was much thinner and light weight in comparison; a specific required for their speciality. But it also meant that they weren't exactly suitable for combat especially against a heavy hitter like Megatron; Jazz's death had been a testament to that. The spy knew that all it took was one direct and precise hit with either the flail or fusion cannon could severely damage him, or worse send him on his way to the matrix. Of course that was becoming more likely the more frustrated Megatron was starting to get as he tried to focus his attention upon preventing Jazz from re-entering the Nemesis, in fact Mirage couldn't understand why the saboteur hadn't ordered him to head inside since he could quite literally disappear from sensors using his field disruptor; unless his team leader didn't trust him enough not to shoot Barricade particularly if there was another plan in place that no-one else was privy too.

Whatever it was, it clearly wasn't going to happen especially now that a small squadron of unknown mechs were stepping out of the hole, their weapons pointed at the ready. The spy watched as Megatron glanced at the unit forming behind him before he turned his crimson gaze back on the three of them, a twisted smile pulling at his lip components. Mirage felt his fuel pump almost stall inside his chest as he took in their numbers, they were clearly out gunned and outmatched now. He knew immediately that they needed to call for reinforcements, or there was a very likely chance that none of them were going to make it back to the Ark in one piece. It seemed Jazz shared his thoughts on the situation as the saboteur barely managed to broadcast a distress signal right before the Decepticon leader lunged for him.

* * *

**Outside the Nemesis ….**

There was something decidedly strange about this battle, Sideswipe mused as he neatly threw himself into a sideways roll whilst narrowly avoiding being swiped by one of Devastator's gigantic servos. The Constructicons had wasted no time in combining into the behemoth the second they had stepped out onto the battlefield, tipping the advantage from the Autobots to the Decepticons. The red front-liner could hear his brother curse about his paint being chipped somewhere not far from him, he spared his twin a brief glance to see a murderous glint flash in his brother's optics right before he fired a precision shot that burned its way through Thundercracker's left wing. The blue flier cursed loudly as he banked sharply and headed into the moon's incredibly thin atmosphere where he turned abruptly and headed back down to the surface, plasma weapons firing the second he was close enough to deliver several punishing rounds in return. Of course being quite the expert on royally ticked off fliers, Sunstreaker simply ducked and rolled out of the way then returned fire forcing Thundercracker back up into the atmosphere to 'lick' his wounds for a few brief moments. Sideswipe returned his attention to the forefront as he began attacking the linkages that held Hightower in place as dealing with seven Constructicons was much easier than a giant mechanism that could easily grind him into dust if he stepped on him, the red front-liner really hated gestalt's as they were completely unpredictable even when they were on their side; a bit like a certain temperamental flier he knew of. Speaking of which besides Thundercracker, Sideswipe had only seen Skywarp out on the battlefield being his usual irritating self by teleporting in and carrying out strafing runs before disappearing again, although it seemed Skyfire was certainly doing a good job in keeping the purple Raptor preoccupied now that he wasn't being bothered by Blitzwing; Arcee had seen to that with a precision shot.

However there was one mechanoid he had not seen join the skirmish, in fact the egotistical fragger Starscream wasn't the only one as he hadn't seen out on the battlefield. Contrary to the norm Megatron was nowhere in sight which explained why Optimus was focusing his attention upon bringing down Devastator rather than grappling with the Decepticon leader, however it did beg the question of where had the unsightly fragger gotten too? Not too mention that both Shockwave and Soundwave were also missing. Which could mean only one thing; the glitches were either possibly waiting for the right moment to join the skirmish, or Megatron had intercepted their special ops team and no doubt causing complications to their mission. A mission he knew was likely to fail as he had seen many a time during the past skirmishes just how violent Megatron could be when fighting desperately for something he wanted control of, Sideswipe had seen a few good mechs and very close friends terminated at the hands of the Decepticon leader simply because they had stood between him and his goal. However this time the silver behemoth was fighting to keep possession of Bluestreak, why? The red front-liner had no idea as Bluestreak was only just a sparkling, he was hardly a threat to the Decepticons at all; well except to their plating when he decided to purge. Sideswipe felt his spark pulse painfully in its chamber at the thought of the little bouncy infant as Bluestreak by all rights should have been back on Earth or at least on board the Ark where he would be safe and sound.

The red front-liner couldn't help but feel anger towards both Prowl and Jazz for not only trusting a Decepticon (he was certain Barricade had to have tipped off the Decepticons about the special ops team), but also because it was their duty as the bitlet's parents to protect him and make sure no harm came to him. However Sideswipe also knew as a named and recognised guardian to Bluestreak, he was also responsible to ensure the sparkling's safety when his parents could not. He could feel Sunstreaker's anger, frustration and shame at failing in his duty to keep Bluestreak safe from harm rolling through their sibling bond before it was directed toward Thundercracker who was refusing to relent in his attempts to take out the gold front-liner. Of course an angry Sunstreaker was a mech not to be trifled with, and Sideswipe was certain that the blue and silver flier was about to find that out. However the red front-liner's attention was drawn back to the forefront when he felt the distinct burn of a plasma round as it grazed his left forearm. Bright azure optics immediately locked onto the heavily armoured protoform stood but several metres from him, a low growl escaped Sideswipe's vocaliser as he flicked out his dual swords and rushed towards the preprogrammed mech. The clearly fledgling Decepticon front-liner easily ducked under the powerful slash that sliced through the air where his helm had been moments ago, however the dark coloured mech simply had no chance against a veteran mech. The red front-liner cleanly sliced the mech's helm off of its shoulders before twisting round and cleaving the frame in two before the twitching frame had a chance to drop to the ground.

Abandoning his original plan of attempting to bring down Devastator, Sideswipe rushed toward the large unit of Decepticon foot soldiers (or cannon fodder his brother helpfully provided across their bond) as they descended the boarding ramp leading into the Nemesis, from the corner of his optics he caught a glimpse of gold plating heading in the same direction. A snort escaped the red front-liner as he watched his brother tear into the unit, there was strictly no way he was going to allow his twin to have all the fun without him. Sideswipe wasted no time in joining his brother in the fray and completely ignoring Prowl barking orders over the comm. link for him to return to the aid of the team trying to bring down the giant gestalt, he knew he would pay for disobeying a direct order from a superior officer later after the skirmish. But at that moment he was more focused upon scattering the unit in front of him and picking off their numbers, his twin swords (a new and recent addition to his arsenal) sliced easily through the enemy troops; their armoured plating clearly not up to the same standards as the other Decepticons. The red front-liner felt the cold satisfaction of terminating a spark that held no meaning to him and simply stood in his way of rescuing his charge, as he plunged one of his swords through the chest plates of one of the many mechs near to him, a sneer tugged at the corners of his lip components when he heard the cry of surprise and pain escape the Decepticon. Sideswipe held no remorse as he twisted the blade slightly before he tore it out of the mech with one swift backward motion of his left arm, the frame dropped heavily onto the rocky moon surface however the red twin paid it no heed as he instantly targeted another mech that was giving his brother some trouble. The pair of them struck together as one like they had done numerous times back in the gladiatorial ring in Kaon, leaving no opening for the Decepticon to defend himself, although once the dismembered frame dropped at their peds Sunstreaker levelled a glare at his brother, clearly unhappy about his interference.

"You fragger I had everything under control." The gold front-liner growled as he flicked the blue glow of energon off his twin blades.

Sideswipe cocked his helm to the side in an imitation of an eye roll "Sure you did Sunny, clearly explains the nick you got from him." The red twin pointed at the graze upon his brother's right upper arm that was slowly oozing energon. A low growl escaped Sunstreaker before he flicked one of his small blades off slightly to the side and behind his brother, Sideswipe allowed a soft cry of surprise to escape him as he swiftly moved out of the way "what the frag Sunny?"

"Stop calling me that! And I just saved your sorry aft moron." The gold twin snarled at his brother as he pointed past him to the mech he had just taken down.

The red twin couldn't help but grin sheepishly at his brother after he glanced at the downed frame "Oh … whoa!" Sideswipe grabbed his twin's small barely noticeable scruff bar at the back of his neck and pulled him out of the way, and just in the nick of time as bits of debris, shrapnel and droplets of plasma and acid that had once been linkages, armoured plating and a round from a plasma rifle rained down upon their last position. Sunstreaker cursed vehemently as he tore himself out of his brother's grasp and was about to clench his fist to tell his twin exactly what he thought of being mech handled when he heard Devastator scream out in both anger and pain "one down, six to go c'mon Sunny." The red front-liner grinned at his twin as he took off toward where the behemoth.

"I swear you call me that one more time and I'll turn you inside out." Sunstreaker shouted as he followed after his brother, although all he received in return was a cackle as Sideswipe happily cleaved another foot soldier in half before he took off running yet again. The gold front-liner frowned at his brother's recklessness as he twisted round in order to drive one of his energon blades into a Decepticon foot soldier's chest plates, although his aim was a little off and the small dagger sunk into the mech's left shoulder instead. The mech screamed in both surprise and pain and attempted to take Sunstreaker's helm off with a rather uncoordinated swing with his other arm which he had transformed into a double edged axe. The gold front-liner ducked out of the way, tearing the energon blade out of his enemy's shoulder and plunged it deep into the mech's undamaged shoulder completely disabling him. A small sadistic smile crept upon Sunstreaker's lip components as he tore the blade out splattering energon across his own chest plating, with the heavily armoured protoform still reeling from the shock, the gold front-liner wasted no time in going in for the kill. The Decepticon front-liner collapsed to the ground in front of his peds, helm nearly decapitated from his frame, Sunstreaker didn't even spare the mech a second glance before he took off again towards the others who were still trying to bring down the rest of Devastator.

The giant behemoth was still putting up one hell of a fight despite the numerous plasma rounds being shot into his heavily armoured plating, and not forgetting that he was now also missing one of his legs although it was hardly slowing him down. The gold front-liner sub-spaced his blades and switched to the somewhat illegal and highly modified plasma rifle he carried, he swiftly rolled out of the way when Devastator dropped a heavy servo on his last position before twisting to his feet and firing several rounds into the vulnerable wrist joint.

_::/Watch your back Sunny, there's no way I'm gonna pick up your squished pieces if big and ugly steps on you.\\::_ Sideswipe told his brother through their shared link.

_::/Shut up.\\::_ Sunstreaker growled in return as he allowed his azure optics to quickly scout the battlefield for his twin, he easily spotted him tearing into one of the Dreads although the red front-liner certainly had his work cut out for him. A part of the gold front-liner was curious as to how much of the Decepticon army had been taken aboard the Nemesis before the battleship had left Cybertron? With their sheer numbers, they were clearly outnumbered although that fact didn't slow the gold front-liner down in anyway. In fact his attacks became particularly more vicious as he channelled his anger and frustration at failing Bluestreak when he had sworn an oath to protect him, into each of the rounds he fired into the enemy. A life as young as Bluestreak didn't deserve to be involved in a war that had been started a very long time ago, the sparkling had a right to grow up in a safe environment away from harm and although Earth had seemed to be an ideal sanctuary at the time, it had now become a battlefield for their long drawn out war against the Decepticons. Speaking of said enemy, the ground troops appeared to be pulling back, but like all seasoned warriors Sunstreaker knew it didn't necessarily mean it was a victory at all.

However the gold front-liner didn't have the chance to contemplate exactly what the withdrawal could mean when a distress signal was broadcasted across an encrypted bandwidth. Sunstreaker immediately recognised the emergency beacon to be Jazz's which could only mean one thing; the recovery mission was now a bust and the special ops team needed help in escaping back to the extraction point. He scanned the battlefield for Prowl knowing that the tactician would react instantly to the distress signal coming from his spark-mate, he spotted the black and white mech not far from his position and watched for a brief moment as the Prowl viciously smashed the butt end of his rifle into Sideway's facial plates. The attack was enough to send the silver mech staggering backwards before a perfectly executed round house kick to the mid-drift took Sideways out of the fight if only for a few brief moments. Prowl wasted no time in lining up a shot and taking down Crankcase with an explosive acid pellet round to the Dread's left shoulder, the gold front-liner heard his brother curse loudly and watched in amusement as his twin was about to deliver a few choice words to the tactician only for the black and white mech to stop him from doing so by holding up a single servo.

"Save it." Prowl told the red front-liner before his azure gaze flickered to Sunstreaker "I need the pair of you to come with me immediately."

"Uh Prowl, I know Jazz is in trouble but don't you think we should dispatch big and ugly here first?" Sideswipe inquired as he jutted a single thumb over his shoulder.

The tactician quickly checked the supply of acid pellets in his rifle before he glanced at the red twin with a single optic ridge quirked "I believe Optimus is doing a fine job of that already."

The two front-liners glanced at one another before their gazes sought out their leader, small surprised looks appeared upon their facial plates as they watched their Prime plunge the long blade of his energon sword into what was effectively Devastator's upper right arm before ripping it out at an angle severing several connectors. However before the Autobot leader could finish severing the other ones, the gestalt recoiled violently against the pain leaving Optimus not choice but to jump down when he lost his balance upon Devastator's shoulder. It was a slight rarity that the twins actually witnessed their leader fighting as usually their Prime was either stuck in a deadlock with Megatron as they tried to gain the upper hand over one another, or the front-liner's were too busy focusing their energy and their efforts upon bringing down both Starscream and his trine. The sudden recoil had no impact upon their leader's performance as the large red and blue mech sheathed his sword, removed his rifle from its resting place upon his back then fired several rounds into the weakened connectors holding Scrapper in place.

"Okay Optimus clearly has things under control with dismantling Devastator." Sideswipe said as he watched the large behemoth flail with one remaining arm before he collapsed onto his side, a defiant yell escaping his vocaliser.

"Come on idiot, Prowl's already gone without us." Sunstreaker growled at his brother before he took off after the tactician, the gold front-liner was fully aware that his twin was just seconds behind him as they left one battlefield to go and join another. Sunstreaker found himself barely able to keep up with the black and white mech, but he knew within his own spark that Prowl was desperate to reach his spark-mate before Jazz's luck finally run out and Megatron was able to swoop in for the kill.

Prowl raced toward his bonded's last known position, he knew he was pushing his frame past its limit as his spark was pulsing rapidly in its chamber, his intakes were burning, and the muscle cables in his legs were beginning to ache. But he simply pushed it to the back of his processor as outright desperation to reach Jazz effortlessly overrode his logic circuits and battle computer. The tactician leapt over a rock jutting out of the ground, although in his haste he nearly performed a spectacular face plant in the process. There was simply no chance in the pit that he was going to allow Megatron the opportunity to kill the mech that was now his bonded a second time, in fact the sudden panic that he could easily lose everything in a few nano clicks, rushed through his systems which effectively had several of them redlining as a result. The black and white mech spotted the dark hulking mass that was the Nemesis tucked away behind jagged rock formations, immediately his battle computer unhelpfully provided the many potential sniper points and ambush locations, however he pushed the high probabilities an warnings to the back of his mind as he scrambled up over rocks. Prowl could hear Sunstreaker curse vehemently about the numerous scrapes and dents he was acquiring from the small climb, although the tactician had to admit that his own armoured plating wasn't fairing any better as he slipped through crevices in the desperate attempt to get over the natural wall and reach the other side.

The sounds that accompanied a fierce battle taking place greeted the black and white mech's audio receptors before the visual did, Prowl pushed himself out from between the rocks and immediately his azure optics fell upon the full scale assault taking place. The tactician briefly paused for a few nano-clicks as he took in the carnage that had taken place, the ground was littered with scorch marks, gauges, spilt energon and several off-lined frames that thankfully resembled none of his comrades, or his spark-mate. The black and white mech spent a few more seconds to locate each member of the special ops team, he spotted Mirage not far from his position, the spy's twin energon blades flashed as he blocked and parried each of the blows that a heavily armoured front-liner was more than happily throwing in his direction. Prowl's battle computer immediately dictated that he send the twins in to deal with the ground unit, although he wasn't in the least bit surprised to find the pair of them had already acted on their own initiative and entered the fray.

The tactician knew he could overlook Sideswipe's and Sunstreaker's infraction later as he dropped to one knee and set the butt of his rifle against his right shoulder strut. Sharp shooter instincts kicked in as he sighted along the barrel once he had located his target, the black and white mech thumbed the safety off and slid his index finger around the trigger before finally taking two shots. The first acid pellet found its mark in the mech's left shoulder which sent him stumbling backwards snarling in anger before the second one silenced him, the corrosive acid burned its way through armoured plating, vital circuitry, and into the spark chamber; the end result Prowl knew would be a quick but painful death. The tactician received a somewhat annoyed look from Mirage before the spy took off and rushed to his bond-mate's aid, the black and white mech knew a special ops agent considered it an insult to their skill set if another mech took down their opposition. However it seemed the blue and white mech was willing to let the transgression go and allow Prowl to focus his attention upon more pressing matters; the location of his own spark-mate.

The 2IC glanced around the battlefield until a glint of silver caught his attention, he turned his azure gaze in the direction he had seen it in only to feel his fuel pump almost stop in his chest; his bonded was fighting none other than Megatron himself. The tactician's battle computer kicked into overdrive as he raced toward the skirmish between Jazz and the Decepticon leader, he tried to push aside the high probabilities and low percentages of success that were unhelpfully being provided to him, not too mention the particular images of Megatron wrapping his long clawed fingers around his spark-mate's frame and tearing him apart. Once the black and white mech was close enough in range, that was after battling through several ground soldiers that stupidly planted themselves between Prowl and his goal, the tactician scrambled up a small rock formation to get a clearer shot and took it without so much as lining up a shot. It appeared to be in the nick of time as the Decepticon leader's clawed fingertips brushed against the saboteur's back plates just as Jazz twisted away from the grab. The high corrosive round struck the large silver behemoth's right shoulder giving the smaller silver mech a much needed reprieve as Megatron stumbled backwards snarling in pain, surprise and downright fury that someone had stopped him from killing the Autobot's 3IC. Prowl leapt down from the rocks he had been perched upon and rushed across to Jazz's side, he wasted no time in grabbing one of the surprised if not relieved saboteur's upper right arm and dragging him across and behind some cover.

"I do hope you don't plan upon making 'frequent one on one skirmishes' with Megatron a regular thing?" The tactician inquired as he quickly checked the charge in the power cells of his rifle, he frowned slightly when he realised that he only had a few shots left.

"Glad ta see ya too." Jazz responded as he risked peaking over the large rock formation they were taking cover behind only to duck down again when a high yield energy blast was fired in their direction, it skimmed the top of their cover before impacting the wall behind him and showering the pair with dust and debris. The saboteur popped back up and squeezed off a couple of shots before dropping wearily back down again, every part of his frame ached in a different way and now the fresh claw marks upon his back were voicing themselves loudly every time the silver mech moved. Besides his injuries, Jazz felt defeated mentally, he had completely failed his mission and allowed his son to slip through his fingers a second time, he knew all chances of retrieving Bluestreak now were next to impossible and he couldn't help but be angry at himself for trying to at least improve those odds and bring his creation home safe and sound.

_::/Prowler I couldn't reach him, I'm sorry.\\:: _The saboteur transmitted through their spark link.

Prowl felt the sorrow, regret and bitterness flow through their bond as he regarded his spark-mate _::/Jazz it's not your fault, I suspected there would be a low chance of success, neither you or I could have predicted that this would happen.\\::_

_::/I know but ah can't help but feel responsible ...\\::_ The silver mech's words trailed off when his predictive programming sprung up a warning upon his HUD, it appeared Prowl received the same warning as the pair of them rolled backwards and twisted up onto their peds just a dangerous looking flail crashed down upon the rock formation they had been taking cover behind.

Crimson optics, full of anger and hatred, settled upon the pair of them before a cruel smile made its way onto Megatron's facial plates "Did you honestly think you could get him back foolish Autobots, all you've done is hastened his demise." The Decepticon leader's smile turned almost gleeful as he regarded the two mechs in front of him "and now your own." The silver behemoth immediately singled out of one of the two and opened fire, he knew they were a bonded pair which meant he could easily rid himself of two proverbial thorns in his side with little to no effort.

Megatron focused his attention upon the Autobot tactician since he decided that the black and white mech was significantly more of a threat than his silver counterpart, although the saboteur was certainly not to be underestimated as the little silver nuisance was aiming for the small gaps in-between his armour plates, not too mention the annoying injuries that he had already acquired from the glitch. In fact the Decepticon leader turned his attention upon the saboteur who was attempting to move in close and attach some sort of device onto his armour, however whether out of sheer luck or due to the previous injuries he had inflicted upon the Autobot's 3IC, the Decepticon leader managed to blast him square in the chest plates with his fusion cannon. The saboteur was sent tumbling backwards before he came to a stop in a crumpled heap a few metres from his position, the silver behemoth couldn't help but bathe in the satisfaction of possibly deactivating one of Prime's precious Lieutenants.

However his victory was short lived when hot searing pain exploded in his already damaged right shoulder, he snarled angrily as he reached round with his left servo and ripped out the offending object. Bright crimson optics fell upon the energon coated, star shaped shuriken in his left hand before he directed his gaze toward the wielder; and just in the nick of time as another shuriken whistled through the air heading straight for the centre seam in the middle of Megatron's chest plates. However the silver behemoth managed to knock it aside with the one he already had, although he should have known that the small weapon would arch around the back of him and head back to its wielder; a particular design that those who had learned the arts of Circuit-su had incorporated into their throwing weapons with the exception of the small energon blades. The Decepticon leader knew that if the tactician was resorting to hand held weapons, then the charge chamber had to be empty in the black and white mech's rifle, unless of course he was either saving the last round for a precision shot or the silver behemoth had made this personal by taking out the saboteur.

"Seems you've run out of ideas tactician." Megatron sneered as he charged up his fusion cannon with full intentions that this would be the shot that would end the black and white irritation. However with his attention fully focused upon the Autobot tactician before him, the Decepticon leader never registered the new presence behind him until he felt the sharp tip of a blade poke him none too gently in the back plates.

"Quite the contrary … brother." Came the voice of one mechanoid he had not yet run into despite the fact that his usual MO consisted of seeking out his opposition in the attempt to finally terminate him once and for all.

"Prime." The silver behemoth rumbled, he was mildly surprised to say the least as he was certain that he had sent Devastator and the majority of the ground troops to intercept the Autobots and keep them at bay. A brief glance around the battlefield had Megatron seething in righteous fury as his soldiers were either held at gun point or were forced down onto their knees with their hands behind their helms, he also cursed himself bitterly for not 'double checking' to see if the Autobot saboteur was still on-line as he watched the gold front-liner haul the smaller silver mech up from the ground.

"You've been defeated Megatron, surrender Bluestreak's location and I will ensure that neither Prowl or Jazz will kill you once they have his position." Optimus told the large silver mech, his azure gaze watching both of his Lieutenants as Jazz gingerly made his way over to his spark-mate's side. The Prime could see that each of their frames were coiled tightly with tension, stress, anger and the desperate need to find their son, he knew given the chance the saboteur would get the information he wanted through any means possible, however Optimus wasn't about to let his 3IC stoop to that dangerous and unforgiving level just yet.

A dark chuckle escaped the Decepticon leader as he pinged the comm. link of one of his subordinates who he knew was still on board the Nemesis "You've not won here today Prime, and neither will you in the future." Megatron twisted round knocking the blade aside before reaching and sinking his clawed fingertips into Prime's right elbow joint, he twisted the limb at an odd angle which had Optimus dropping down onto his knees from the sharp pain. The silver behemoth was aware of several Autobots shifting into action although their attention was soon drawn to the Nemesis when the sound of shifting plates and gears clicking into motion could be heard, a cruel smile made its way onto Megatron's lip components as he watched the top hull plates split apart completely. It was a new addition to the battleship that the Decepticon leader was determined to have incorporated into the Nemesis during its reconstruction. The large powerful ion cannon unfolded from its resting place and aimed in the direction of the heavy and thick cloud cover where the silver behemoth suspected the Ark was attempting to hide in.

The distinct sound of a weapon charging silenced the entire battlefield before a vibrant purple glow appeared in the muzzle of the cannon, both the Autobots and the Decepticons alike watched as the weapon discharged a round up into the atmosphere. A loud crack sounded across the landscape which had those with sensitive audio receptors covering such faculties with their servos whilst the others watched mesmerised as the ion discharge dissipated the clouds it ripped through and inevitably revealing the unsuspecting Ark. The vibrant purple round tore through the shielding and slammed into the side of the transport ship, small multiple explosions erupted from the damaged hull whilst molten pieces of metal were propelled outwards.

Megatron returned his attention back to Optimus, he stepped in a little closer to the Prime, his grip tightening upon the arm he had hold of "Surrender Prime, or the next one will not be a warning shot?"

The Autobot leader didn't bother offering the silver behemoth any remarks as he pushed himself up and twisted his arm out of Megatron's grip, the Decepticon leader stumbled backwards mildly surprised. However those few seconds were all Optimus needed as he removed his rifle from its resting place upon his back, the Prime wasted no time in aiming it at his long term nemesis and blasting Megatron square in the chest plates. The Decepticon leader was sent tumbling backwards before he came to a stop in an undignified heap, however the red and blue mech was taken somewhat by surprise when the silver behemoth picked himself up from the floor, transformed into his flight mode and headed back toward the Nemesis without so much as a single act or retaliation. Although Megatron's parting words that drifted across the battlefield however concerned him:

"Do not attempt to pursue us Optimus, or I will terminate the sparkling."

"This isn't over yet Megatron." Optimus murmured to himself as he watched the battleship lift up off the ground, its hangar bay doors rolling open to allow the last of the retreating Decepticon forces to board the vessel before its propulsion engines were engaged. The Prime waited with abated breath to see whether the Nemesis would blast the descending Ark out of the skies, thus stranding them on the moon however it seemed Megatron's unexpected show of mercy was extended to the transport ship as the battleship ignored it altogether and headed up into the upper atmosphere.

"We should go after them." Sideswipe declared loudly, breaking the sombre silence that had fallen over the group "they've not only got Blue, but 'Bee as well."

"Megatron made it clear Sideswipe that if we attempt to pursue them, that not only would he destroy the Ark, he would terminate Bluestreak also." Prowl told the red front-liner without so much as looking at him, the tactician could feel the heated glare Sideswipe threw in his direction, but he simply ignored it as he attended to his injured spark-mate.

Sudden anger infused the red front-liner's frame and he gritted his denta, had Prowl and Jazz given up that easily? The very same two officers who refused to back down until a mission was completed, or a plan had been seen to fruition despite the odds stacked against them. Sideswipe was finding it hard to comprehend the fact that the bonded pair seemed to have resided themselves to the fact that they were never going to get Bluestreak back. And what about Bumblebee? The scout meant a lot to all of them since they had raised him from a sparkling to adult, yet no-one including Ironhide were yelling for a plan to be formulated in order for them to rescue their two youngest members, just what the slag was going on?

"That's it? We're just going to let them go and do Primus knows what to Blue an' Bumblebee?" The red front-liner demanded.

"There is nothing we can do." The black and white ground out, he was already feeling guilty and ashamed that none of his plans had worked without being reminded of his failures by a subordinate.

"That's a load of bull-slag Prowl." The red front-liner snapped as he pointed an accusatory finger in the black and white's direction "your our tactician, you should have seen this coming, or were you too blinded by family to realise that Barricade was simply leading us into a trap?" Sideswipe heard Ironhide shift restlessly behind him and he spared the weapons specialist a glance, he knew the black mech wanted to add his opinion to the matter, but a stern look from Ratchet halted Ironhide in his tracks.

Azure optics flashed in anger whilst elegant sensory panels became rigid and snapped up into a sharp 'V' "I'm fully aware of the many possibilities without you needing to point out the blatantly obvious to me."

Metal squealed loudly as Sideswipe clenched a single fist, the levels of anger and frustration that were already rampaging through his systems were beginning to rise to new heights "Clearly it wasn't obvious enough …." His words trailed off when he felt a hand gently fall upon his chest plates and comforting and reassuring thoughts flow through the bond he shared with his twin, he glanced up to meet his brother's surprisingly calm gaze and couldn't help but frown; after all it was rare to see Sunstreaker like this especially in the company of their comrades.

"Let it go Sides, there's no use in fighting amongst ourselves, it's not gonna do Blue or 'Bee any good if we're at each other's throats." The gold front-liner told his brother whilst ignoring the strange looks he received from his own sibling and their comrades.

"I'm in agreement with Sunstreaker." Optimus spoke up as he took a few steps forward "we unfortunately have other pressing issues that we must attend to at this moment in time." The Prime gestured in the direction of the transport ship and the large gaping hole in its side. He knew the repairs to the Ark could take several hours if not a day which would give the Decepticons a good head start to wherever they were going, the Autobot leader suspected that they could be heading back to Cybertron but since their home-world was nothing more than a dead planet, not even Bluestreak's limited abilities were enough to revive the empty husk. Optimus glanced across to where Prowl and Jazz were stood beside one another, although the saboteur was leaning heavily upon the tactician for support, the Prime couldn't even begin to imagine the turmoil that had to be raging through their sparks with their second failure to rescue their son from the enemies clutches. However when he met their gazes he saw cold hard determination that they were willing to pursue the Decepticons across the vast expanse of the universe, no matter how long it took to get Bluestreak back.

* * *

_A/N: You didn't think it was gonna be that easy? Nope I still have a few more chapters planned for this fic!_

_Review please!_


	24. Plans Revealed

_I wanna thank everyone who reviewed the last chapter, put this story on their alert lists and added it to their favourites, you're all awesome especially **, renegadewriter8, Sounddrive, optimus prime 007, Chaos Garden, Daklog 73, MoonWalker, Shizuka Taiyou, ExclusiveTM and Wicked3659 over at LJ. **Anyway here's the next chapter for all you patient people!_

_**Warnings:** Use of profanities, angst_

_**Disclaimer**: Not mine, I just toy with with them and hand them back in less than pristine condition._

_'Blah' – thoughts_

_::Blah:: - Radio Communication_

_:/blah\: - Inter. comm._

_::/Blah\\:: Bond communication_

_*Flashback* _

* * *

**Nemesis . . . .**

Bumblebee didn't think there wasn't one part of his frame that didn't ache as his systems on-lined one by one after being knocked off-line forcibly, it was a cautionary measure to ensure the enemy weren't tied into his systems. He knew that one day his luck would run out and he would be captured by the Decepticons and subjected to their interrogations, although the scout figured he wouldn't be much use to them but then again he was apart of special operations, so any sensitive information he had contained in his processor would be highly valuable to the enemy. Bumblebee on-lined his optics and groaned at the sight that greeted him, it was one place he really didn't want to be; on board the Nemesis, although he was mildly surprised to find that he was not in their brig or in any kind of interrogation room. In fact it appeared that he was in one of the many maintenance tubes they had used to get on board the battleship, the scout gingerly pushed himself up into a sitting position whilst biting back the groan of pain that wanted to escape him when his chest plates voiced their opinion about the movement.

"Glad to see you back on-line." Rumbled a voice not far from him.

Bumblebee twisted up onto his peds only to regret it moments later when not only did the top of his helm hit the low ceiling, but his fuel tank churned as well. He was well aware that Barricade had extended an arm to steady him, however the scout simply rewarded him with the heated and glowing end of his solar cannon which hovered just inches from his facial plates.

"You." Bumblebee hissed at him angrily as each of his combat systems came on-line.

The shock trooper snorted in irritation as he pushed the weapon away "Point that thing somewhere else and dampen your energy signature before you give away our position."

The scout muttered something under his breath as he deactivated his weapons systems and took a couple of deep calming intakes, although he was finding it hard to do so since Barricade was supposed to be their ally and yet the fragger had shot him! Why and for what reason? He was determined to find out. But first Bumblebee found himself staring at the small cube of energon the shock trooper had pressed into his right hand.

The scout scrutinised the cube of energon Barricade had handed him with suspicion, the shock trooper had already shot him once and he wasn't about to let him poison him too. Bumblebee glanced up to meet the crimson gaze of the black and white mech "So just exactly whose side are you working for? Or is this a campaign to suit your own ends?"

"Would you believe me if I told you it was part of an 'elaborate' plan conjured up from the pit by your superiors?" Barricade responded as he took a sip from his own cube, his crimson gaze never leaving the yellow mech sat across from him "it's not poisoned if that's what your concerned about Autobot."

Bumblebee shot the shock trooper a light glare before taking a hesitant small sip of his energon, he waited for it to settle in his fuel tank and for any adverse affects to take effect, but when none came he took a slightly larger gulp before he finished the rest of the cube.

"I have no reason to kill you Autobot, after all its part of the 'plan'." The black and white sneered at that, he was never one for tactical planning, the statistical side of it always bored him out of his processor. In fact he couldn't understand how his younger sibling could stand being stuck in a room running numerous simulations and long statistical analysis' for joors on end.

"I have a designation, and you keep mentioning a plan, what plan? Why wasn't anyone else been told about it?" The scout demanded as he rubbed at his chest plates, they were still aching slightly after being shot but Bumblebee knew the pain would fade eventually once his self repair had fixed all of the superficial damage.

Barricade vented a noisy sigh out of his intakes as he dropped down onto his aft not far from Bumblebee, his crimson gaze settling upon the scout "Our reason for being here is to slow down the Nemesis with subtle sabotage and to transmit the ship's spacial co-ordinates to your .. friends." The shock trooper looked vaguely uncomfortable about using that word as the black and white hardly knew the meaning of friends, comrades and adversaries yes, friends no.

"Wasn't that what we were doing in the first place before you shot me?" Bumblebee pointed out only to receive a blank look in return, an expression that reminded him all too well of Prowl. Although it shouldn't have surprised him since the pair of them were brothers, and now the scout was seeing just how much alike the two actually were "actually why did you shoot me? And I can't exactly go wandering around the ship without painting a giant bullseye on my back plates now can I .. genius."

The shock trooper simply stared at the yellow mech "I shot you because I was told too .. yes believe it or not, they wanted your presence here as a form of assurance that I wouldn't double cross them."

Bumblebee found his vocaliser refusing to work after that revelation, he was finding it hard to come to terms over the fact that Optimus Prime, Prowl and Jazz had more or less ordered Barricade to attack him in order for another plan to fall into place when another couldn't reach its full potential or ended in failure. And what about Mirage? What had happened to his team-mate after the shock trooper had taken him down? Surely Barricade wouldn't have terminated him or allowed him to be captured by the Decepticons? There were so many questions he needed answering and the only way he was going to get them was through prying them out of the shock trooper.

The scout vented a sigh out of his intakes as he pinched his nasal ridge with his thumb and index fingers "Alright I think you better start at the beginning before I can even begin to even trust you."

Red optics narrowed dangerously at the yellow mech "I don't have to explain anything to you, but since I need your full co-operation in this suicidal venture, so be it."

***Flashback* **

_The Prime straightened himself and a stern expression made its way onto his facial plates "Barricade." He rumbled which had the shock trooper pause in his stride, Barricade turned and crimson optics met deep cobalt ones "remain behind, there are things we need to discuss." _

_The other black and white made his way over, he received some curious and suspicious glances from the other Autobots as they left the room. Jazz waited for the last mech to leave before he stepped forward and tapped a few keys on the small control pad on the conference table, the doors slid shut and an audible click informed Barricade that a secure lock was now in place. The shock trooper glanced at the three mechs assembled on the other side of the large conference table, his crimson optics scanned each of them as he looked for subtle signs that would inform him of the reason why he had been asked to remain behind. However when silence continued to suffocate the room with its tight embrace, Barricade couldn't help but shift uneasily upon his peds as he waited for the proverbial ball to drop._

"_So ..." Barricade spoke up to break the awkward silence "do you plan on telling me why I'm here, or are you going to leave me guessing?" The shock trooper watched as the three mechs that made up the Autobot command team glance at one another, no doubt deciding upon who should go first. However Barricade decided to beat them to it as he focused his crimson gaze upon his little brother, his sibling needed to know that the strategy he had devised wasn't going to work not with the new radical changes made to the Nemesis "your plan won't work." An almost deafening silence fell upon the room and the shock trooper could feel the tension in the room suddenly sky rocketing, Barricade even noticed how his brother's plating seemed to bristle at the comment made and waited for the rant about probable outcomes for this upcoming mission and what the most favourable course of action was._

_Prowl's entire frame tensed and his sensory panels rose up into a sharp 'V' formation "What?" He demanded. _

"_Your plan to attack the Nemesis with strike teams whilst sending in your ops team at the same time won't work, you'd be signing their death warrants." The shock trooper told him as he stepped toward the conference table, he noticed the brief flicker in his brother's back appendages and knew he had hit a sour note. Barricade understood that the one part of his vocation that Prowl hated the most was the probability that he could be sending good mechs to their deaths._

"_Ya can't know that fer sure 'Cade." Jazz spoke up as he folded his arms across his chest plates, he was feeling slightly insulted that the shock trooper would question his skills as an infiltrator. He had slipped into Decepticon strongholds many times during the heat of battle and was successful ninety eight percent of the time in obtaining his goal, although he would admit that sometimes it had been by the last nano-click._

_Crimson optics snapped in the direction of the saboteur "Actually Jazz yes I do, this isn't just any Decepticon stronghold you're breaking into, this is Megatron's flagship, he had it designed to keep glitches like you out when they enter battle mode."_

"_Then what do you suggest?" The tactician demanded sharply._

"_Send your special ops team in first, that way Megatron will never suspect a thing and the Nemesis' defences will be minimal." Barricade began to explain "also your proposed route into the ship will take too long, I can provide a quicker and easier way in and to your targeted areas whilst avoiding any and all Sentinel patrols unless of course that sparkless fragger Shockwave has changed them."_

_Prowl took a step forward, his entire frame coiled tightly in anger "And you never thought to share this Intel. with us?"_

_The shock trooper brushed off the glare his younger sibling was giving him and fixed him with a hard stare "You never asked."_

"_The reason you are here is to provide any Intel. that could be valuable to us." The tactician snarled in return, the tips of his sensory panels were clinking softly against one another as the elegant appendages trembled with barely repressed anger._

_Barricade's expression turned dark as he placed both of his palms upon the cool surface of the table and leant forward "The only reason I'm here is because you were too cowardly to kill me." It took a mere few seconds for the shock trooper to become acquainted with the glowing and heated end of his brother's acid pellet rifle, Barricade couldn't help but look a little surprised at that; after all it took a lot to push Prowl into drawing a weapon since he was more about negotiation and diplomacy, not this irrational creature that had been born through a combination of stress, tension and not enough recharge._

"_That's enough." Optimus growled as he pushed the weapon that was pointed at the shock trooper's chest plates away "you are not here to squabble over past deeds am I understood?" The Prime directed a glare at both black and whites, his second in command sub-spaced his weapon and refused to make optic contact with him whilst Barricade simply gave him an indifferent look, but none the less he heard softly murmured 'yes sirs' from both mechs before he turned his attention to Barricade "as you pointed out that Prowl's current plan isn't likely to work .." Optimus ignored the small glare that was directed at him from his tactician, he sent a brief data burst across an encrypted comm. channel to his second in command informing him that he had every faith in his abilities but they needed the ex-con's input on the matter as it could provide a different and hopefully more favourable outcome ".. what areas do you believe need to be amended?"_

"_I would strongly recommend sending your ops team in first, also I wish to join one of the two teams preferably the one assigned to sabotage the Nemesis' key systems." The shock trooper responded as he folded his arms across his chest plates, he noticed the brief subtle glances the three of them shared and the tension in their frames._

"_I don't think that would be such a good idea, the others are suspicious enough with their beliefs that you have your own agenda without adding to their paranoia." Prowl spoke up, his azure gaze hard and unwavering whilst elegant sensory panels stood rigid upon his back._

"_I have intimate knowledge of the Nemesis' primary systems, my skills will be a valuable asset to the sabotage team." Barricade argued back with a determined look upon his facial plates._

_Jazz glanced at his bonded "He's got a point, 'Cade could cut th' time in half fer th' team to get through th' security systems an' locate th' most vulnerable points, besides wasn't that th' reason ya asked 'im ta stay behind was due ta th' fact ya want 'im on th' Nemesis if everythin' goes pear shaped?"_

_The shock trooper's expression darkened "You want me where?"_

_The tactician vented a deep sigh out of his intakes "Jazz believed it would be necessary to have a back up plan in place in the event that his team is unsuccessful."_

_Barricade frowned as he allowed his arms to drop down to his sides "I don't know if your aware but if I step even a few metres near the Nemesis, Megatron will have me terminated faster than you can say holy frag."_

"_That's where these come in." Jazz told him as he removed something from his sub-space and tossed it to Barricade._

_The shock trooper caught the objects with ease, he looked over the small flat circular devices that sat in the middle of his right palm before he glanced at the saboteur "What are these?"_

"_Shieldin' devices, standard special ops equipment, they'll keep ya spark signature under wraps, I also had Wheeljack add a little somethin' else, ya can scan another mech's specifics wit' it an' take on their appearance as long as ya wear th' device." The 3IC replied as he folded his arms across his chest plates._

"_You mean as long as they don't explode first." Barricade muttered as he somewhat hesitantly put the devices into his sub-space "then what do you propose I do once I'm back aboard the Nemesis once everything has gone up slags creek?"_

"_You and Bumblebee will work as a team to slow down the Nemesis and provide us with indicators as to its co-ordinates should they manage to jump into transwarp before we do." Prowl told him._

"_Wait, wait let me get this straight, you're sending the scout with me? I feel almost insulted." The shock trooper growled as he leant forward on his hands, his crimson optics bright with anger and disbelief "and I'm surprised that you have so little faith in your own plans." He noticed the small change in body language from his younger brother and understood in those few astro-seconds that even the most brilliantly minded strategist to grace Cybertron was having doubts about whether they were going to succeed or not._

"_'Bee's fully capable of pullin' this off, he's infiltrated enough Decepticon strongholds ta know how ta play th' game safely." Jazz replied "he's also there just in case ya either become incapacitated or decided ta have a change of spark, I'd send Mirage but ah can't guarantee ya safety."_

"_Which would not only endanger the youngling .." He noticed a minute stiffening of the Prime's frame at that ".. but also your mission to keep tabs upon the Nemesis, besides I'm not that stupid or suicidal, even if I wanted to rejoin the Decepticons I would only be alive for a few astro-seconds before I was turned into a melted pile of scrap metal." Barricade pushed himself back up to his full height 'not if you don't offer something in return for your life like giving the scout to Megatron, the worthless fragger has always had a strange interest in the youngling.' However a voice from deep inside his subconsciousness quickly chased away those thoughts 'remember you swore an oath to protect Bluestreak, you have no choice but to ensure that this mission is a success." The shock trooper vented a sigh out of his intakes "you seem to be placing a slag load of trust in me, how do you know I won't betray you?"_

_A small smile made its way onto Optimus' lip components as he regarded the other black and white mech stood across from him "Faith and a good judge of character, that and I know you value your existence too much to potentially put either Bumblebee or Bluestreak at risk."_

_Barricade uttered a small curse and glanced up at the ceiling, cursing their deity for his luck "Urgh fine, you have my full co-operation."_

"_Good you'll report to Jazz for a full mission debrief, dismissed." The Prime responded._

_The shock trooper vented a deep sigh out of his intakes before he turned to leave the conference room, he was fully aware of his brother's gaze boring into the back of his helm. The sibling bond that had been partially open for the last few days was now closed off and Barricade suspected that his little brother was sceptical about the back up plan, in fact so was he especially when there was a potential likelihood that he could be terminated in the process. But he would do this, if only to get Bluestreak back regardless of what happened to him._

***End of Flashback***

"Close your mouth plates youngling, you'll catch turbo-flies." Barricade told him as he ceased his pacing and fully faced Bumblebee who had sunk to the floor half way through his explanation "why are you gaping like a fish out of water, I thought back up plans were standard procedure when it came to you Autobots?"

Bumblebee's frowned deepened, he was going to hold a grudge against his team leader for this; after all why couldn't he have picked Mirage for this mission "Not when it involves shooting a member of your unit, I know Jazz has a tendency to change things as he goes along, but he's never ordered someone to shoot another mech just to carry out a ruse, besides why couldn't you have shot Mirage instead and then left him somewhere so the others could find him?"

The shock trooper rose a single optic ridge "The ruse would never have worked if I had, besides if I had shot that glitch and dumped his aft somewhere the probability of the Decepticons finding him first was too high."

Surprisingly the scout hummed in agreement at that "You do realise that Prowl and Jazz have now painted a giant bullseye upon your back plating especially once they catch up with us?" The yellow mech pointed out to him.

A dark look appeared upon Barricade's facial plates "I'm well aware of that."

Bumblebee frowned "And you're not concerned about that?"

"What difference does it make, if I'm discovered by the Decepticons Megatron will happily terminate me, if your Autobot friends catch up with us, I risk deactivation at the servos of that hot helmed glitch Ironhide." The shock trooper told him, his whole frame tensed at the thought of either scenarios being played out.

"Optimus wouldn't allow it." The scout replied as he began working a few kinks out of his joints.

"Your leader will have more pressing issues." The black and white pointed out.

An awkward silence fell between the pair of them for a few nano-clicks before Bumblebee decided to break it "So what now?"

"Well whilst your lazy aft was unconscious, I managed to take out two grunts and stash them somewhere before scanning their frames and downloading their data files and duty schedules." The shock trooper responded as he reached into his sub-space and retrieved two devices; the same ones he had been given back on board the Ark.

"Decepticons have duty schedules? I always thought things were done on a whim?" The scout teased.

The black and white mech shot him a light unamused glare "Soundwave is meticulous about keeping things in order to ensure the troublemakers stay out of the brig." _'Much like Prowl's role except he's not a sparkless drone.'_ Barricade though to himself "now we need to get moving before 'we're' missed."

"Right." Bumblebee uttered in response as he got to his peds, although his entire frame protested the movement and it also didn't help matters when a dizzy spell overcame his senses and nearly dropped him on his aft.

"I am to assume you know how to work this?" Barricade teased lightly as he held out the small, flat circular device to the scout.

The yellow mech shot the shock trooper a light glare before he snatched it out of Barricade's clawed hand. Bumblebee pressed the button in the middle then attached it to the centre of his chest plates, the scout vented a deep intake of air as he felt his EM field ripple and fluctuate as it was manipulated by the device before he glanced at the shock trooper. Bumblebee found himself looking twice when he noticed that the distinct black and white plating was replaced by a dark maroon colour, and the four crimson optics that had set Barricade aside from the other Decepticons had been replaced by two. That was the marvel of the shielding devices, it allowed any bot to take on another form without making any physical changes to their frame, the only downside was that the image was held together by their EM field and any disruption to the field such as interference from a device capable of producing its own electro-magnetic field would render it useless.

_'So avoid shield generators and navigation relays.' _The scout told himself as he moved to find a reflective surface so he could take a look at himself, he found one behind the shock trooper and elbowed Barricade aside, the shock trooper grumbled a few words at him however his attention was drawn to his reflection when he saw crimson optics set in a bronze helm staring back at him. The frame of the mech he was impersonating was just slightly bulkier than him, but his own EM field had no problems compensating for the slight difference, that and trapping air under his plating seemed to do the trick.

"Come on you can gawk later, I've got a 'con pinging Vice's comm. frequency, demanding to know where he is." Barricade told him as he handed the scout a data storage device that closely resembled a flash drive "all Surestep's duty schedules and codes are on here, do not loose it." Bumblebee cocked his helm to the side in an imitation of an eye roll "I will ping you a location to rendezvous once the duty shift is over, and youngling . . . mind yourself out there."

The scout couldn't help but look startled at the parting words as he watched the shock trooper duck into the hatchway and disappear, he had half expected a snide remark from the ex-con (who he was still having trouble trusting) rather than the words of caution he had been given. After all Barricade had been a constant thorn in his side during the first initial years combined with the violence he had displayed back on Cybertron, Bumblebee believed that the shock trooper was the last mech he expected to go soft. Unless, and it was the only thing he could think of, Bluestreak had, had a more profound impact upon the ex-con than any of them could have expected, but somehow the scout felt there was more to it than that however he had more important issues that needed to be dealt with first. Bumblebee accessed the data-chip Barricade had handed to him and quickly downloaded both the personality traits of the mech he was impersonating and the Decepticon grunt's duty schedule. The scout muttered several curses under his breath when he noticed that repairs to engineering were on the agenda, that meant all the hard work in slowing down the Nemesis was about to be undone.

_'Unless Barricade has a plan.' _Bumblebee thought to himself as he ducked under the hatchway and began making his way through the narrow and dimly lit crawl space that would take him deep into the bowels of the Nemesis.

* * *

**Ark . . . .**

The low hum of the Ark's engines and its systems reverberated throughout the entire frame of the transport ship as it travelled at transwarp speeds through the blackness of space, the stars which had once served as markers were no longer visible in the black canvas, in fact they were barely visible at all Prowl mused from where he was stood in his quarters. The swirling greens and purples that accompanied the transwarp corridor they were travelling through had been their constant companion ever since they had left Saturn's moon and pointed the Ark's nose toward deep space. They had tried with no success to locate the Nemesis' ion trail for the past couple of days, Wheeljack had even tried to modify the sensors as best as he could to extend their scanning range, but there was only so much power he could divert before he began compromising the transport ship's other primary systems. They had all suspected that Megatron would head back to Cybertron and wipe out any and all last pockets of Autobot resistance upon the planet, however the tactician knew the probability of that happening were very slim as there was no resources upon their war torn and barren world. No the Decepticons were heading somewhere else, a place perhaps where the Allspark could be regenerated, that was if such a place existed.

Prowl felt his spark clench painfully in his chest at the thought of that, the only way the Allspark could be rejuvenated, if that was even possible, was by ending his son's very existence; something he would not permit to happen but was unintentionally allowing it to by failing to rescue his sparkling from Decepticon clutches. The tactician knew from the very second that Barricade had told him the Nemesis was already fully repaired and that the Decepticons were harbouring a weapon on board that could easily destroy the Ark in one precision shot, the black and white mech had no choice but to tell his older sibling to execute their back up plan. Prowl knew he should question his own sanity like the others were no doubt doing in regards to allowing his brother into the ranks, not too mention trusting him to lead the sabotage mission, and now help them track the Nemesis which so far wasn't going to plan. The tactician was beginning to wonder whether he had placed far too much trust in his brother who had been up until recently fighting for the Decepticons, he knew that somewhere underneath that cold and hard exterior his older brother still existed and it was through that knowledge which had prevented him from terminating Barricade when he had the chance; and now he was entrusting him to ensure Bluestreak's safety and prevent his demise should they arrive too late to save him. He knew that if Smokescreen were still around, his eldest brother would tell him that he was making a mistake trusting Barricade and would have strongly advised against it. The black and white mech had known of the spark deep hatred and feeling of betrayal Smokescreen had held towards their brother, but his eldest sibling was gone and Prowl was left making the decisions he suspected were no longer the right ones.

The tactician was drawn out of his thoughts when he heard distressed murmurs escape his spark bonded who was currently crashed out on the couch in the middle of their living space, the black and white mech sent comforting and reassuring thoughts through the bond to calm the saboteur. Prowl watched as Jazz drifted back into the much needed rest he required for his self repair system to regenerate the last remnants of the injuries he had suffered at the hands of Megatron. The tactician knew his bonded was taking the failure of not being able to rescue their creation quite hard as Prowl could easily recall how despondent his mate had been when he had pulled him up from where he had collapsed upon the ground, then led him into the Ark's hangar bay. Although both of them found themselves unable to meet the angry looks nor the expressions of betrayal upon their comrade's facial plates, or the ones the tactician hated the most; the looks of pity or the soft murmured apologies. Prowl knew it wouldn't be long before Ironhide decided that he had, had enough of the tactician avoiding him and the rest of the crew (although Optimus had just becomes as reclusive since Bumblebee's capture as well) before the weapons specialist dragged him out of his quarters, then down to the training area just so he could beat some much needed sense into the black and white mech; well it would be either him or the twins who had been keeping their tempers in check and holding their glossas so far. Prowl knew that although the others were missing the exuberant sparkling, the lack of Bumblebee's presence was also keenly felt amongst the crew; after all they had, had a hand in raising the scout.

However it seemed that Ironhide and the twins were not the only ones ready to dismember someone but Mirage as well, the tactician had noticed a change in the normally calm and collected spy the moment they had left Rhea's orbit. The 2IC suspected that the anger that was just shimmering under the blue and white mech's armour was associated with Bumblebee's capture and Jazz's subsequent refusal to rescue the scout, however Prowl knew that despite their efforts to keep their back up plan under wraps, Mirage would eventually work out for himself that there was more going on than what they had been told; that was if he hadn't already. The tactician's attention was drawn back to the couch again when the distressed murmurs from his spark bonded returned, the 2IC vented a deep sigh out of his intakes as he made his way over to Jazz's side. However before he could reach out to him and rouse the saboteur from his restless recharge, the silver mech startled himself on-line and instantly backed his silver frame into the back of the couch. His azure optics were bright and unseeing and Prowl immediately noticed the glow of an energon blade in his mate's left fist.

"Jazz." He called softly in order to get the saboteur's attention, he knew better than to approach Jazz when he was still groggy from being abruptly brought out of recharge and holding a weapon that could do untold damage to him "Jazz." He called again, this time he noticed that awareness was slowly returning to his spark-mate. The tactician watched as his bonded couldn't help but give a sheepish look as he slipped the blade back into the slot which had been designed for it in his right forearm armour, then the saboteur allowed his entire frame to relax and crumple into a heap. The silver mech still looked completely exhausted despite the fact he had spent much of the last couple of days in recharge, his frame still bore stark reminders of what had happened back on Rhea and what they had lost. Lucky enough all of Jazz's wounds had been superficial and would disappear within a few days, but the aches and the stiffness simply could not compare to the turmoil that raged through his bonded's spark. They both vividly felt the failure, anger, despair and the sense of uselessness as the emotions transmitted constantly, clearly and with no restraint through their bond, the pair knew the odds of rescuing their creation now were not even worth thinking about which only served to ramp up their raw emotions to a new height. None of them could have suspected that Megatron had ordered the construction of a new weapon to be integrated into the Nemesis, especially Barricade who had claimed to know the battleship inside and out, although the shock trooper admitted that the layout might have changed from the last time he had been on board.

_'Unless he wasn't telling us the entire truth and I stupidly believed him.'_ Prowl thought to himself, allowing a small swell of anger towards his older brother to build. He knew that at one time Barricade never once went back upon a promise he had made nor fabricated any facts, but the war not too mention the Decepticon ideals and morals had changed the shock trooper entirely and the tactician knew that his brother could have very well used this opportunity to return to his faction using Bumblebee as a bargaining chip.

_::/We'll have ta wait an' see love, if he's doesn't hold true ta his word, th' next time ya see 'im ya can put an energon blade through his spark.\\::_ Jazz sent over their link as his spark-mate's train of thoughts flowed across the bond.

_::/Maybe if I had done that in the first place we wouldn't be in this mess\\::_ Prowl responded as he sat down beside his bonded, his door-wings drooped upon his back and trembled with the distress that was beginning to overwhelm his emotional circuits.

Jazz shifted to close the space between them, he activated his magnetic constrictor coils in his palms and traced his left hand down the centre of his bonded's back, the low pulse of magnetics washed over tense and taut muscle cables, spinal struts and wing joints. The tactician couldn't help the small moan that escaped him as he felt the tension begin to drain out of his frame, he murmured a few words of appreciation as his entire body began to relax and his processor ceased racing at a million thoughts a minute.

_::/As much as ya don't wanna, ya gonna have ta trust 'Cade,'sides he can't go back on an oath he made ta me an' Blue.\\::_ The saboteur told him as he continued his soothing administrations, he couldn't help the small smile that tugged at his lip components at the sound of his bonded's purring systems. Jazz knew that since the battle on Saturn's moon Rhea, this had been the only time that either of them had been in their quarters. The saboteur himself had been cooped up in the med-bay until a day ago when Ratchet was convinced that his injuries were healing well, and Prowl had sealed himself in the tactical planning room, leaving only when he felt he needed to refuel or take a few minutes to clear his processor before delving back into the fray of logistics and statistics. Eventually the pair of them had been almost forcibly escorted back to their quarters so they could recharge and return to duty better minded, although in all honesty Jazz felt a lot more worse than he did yesterday however he pinned it down to the strange dreams bordering on visions he kept having. They had started a couple of weeks after he had been brought back on-line, at first they had left him tired and irritable after he refused to fall into recharge but eventually they began to petter out before stopping altogether, and not once had he spoken a word of what he saw although he knew that Optimus suspected something was going on. Then they had returned after Bluestreak's conception warning him of dangers that had long since past, but could be easily repeated again; and now the dreams had escalated into flashbacks of a past that their species were not aware of.

_'Or we chose ta bury it and ignore it fer th' sake of it.'_ The saboteur thought to himself as he recalled the last dream he had which had brought him abruptly on-line. Jazz remembered seeing a species much like their own (_'or possibly an early manifestation or one of the many colonies that were sparked by the Allspark.'_ the saboteur pondered) which had thrived and prospered before a beam of blinding light was cast up into the sky, Jazz had seen the planet's inhabitants stop as they watched this strange phenomenon occur before the beam dispersed into a ring that shot out across the surface mercilessly extinguishing every spark upon the planet. The saboteur suspected that the Allspark had something to do with the genocide of the entire planet since they all knew that the cube was capable of taking life as easily as it gave it. It was with that knowledge Jazz understood the dire implications should Megatron find some way to return the Allspark to its former state, he knew that by doing so would not only end Bluestreak's life but threaten the existence of everyone including the Decepticons still on Cybertron. The saboteur refused to allow his son to be used as an instrument of destruction and prayed to any deity who was listening that he would sooner give his life to get Blue back.

"Jazz." He heard his mate call out to him which drew the silver mech from his thoughts, Jazz glanced at his spark-mate who was now knelt in front of him and saw concerned azure optics gazing back at him.

"I'm fine." The saboteur told Prowl before the tactician could even ask the question, although he noticed his bonded didn't look all that convinced.

"Are you sure?" The tactician inquired as a worried frown made its way onto his facial plates "I called your name several times love."

Jazz massaged the top of his nasal ridge with his right thumb, he could feel the beginning of a processor ache starting to niggle at the forefront of his head "Sorry I just .. have so much on ma mind at th' moment."

The black and white mech lightly gripped his spark-mate's right knee joint in a gesture of reassurance "Anything you wish to share?"

"Wish I could love but ah don't even understand what's goin' on." The saboteur replied as he allowed his frame to sag back into the chair, he vented a heavy and weary exhale of air out of his intakes, he knew that it would be unfair if he decided to keep this from his bonded although he quickly came to realise that he had been already. The silver mech sat forward and gripped the hand that was resting upon his knee joint before he met Prowl's gaze "I think this all has ta do wit' that planet that I bookmarked."

The tactician frowned at that "What does?"

"Th' ancient glyphs, th' dreams if ya wanna call them that, they all seemed ta tie in wit' this planet." Jazz responded rather cryptically.

"Jazz it all seems far fetched, how can you be so sure?" The tactician inquired as he shifted to move so he was sat on the edge of the couch.

"There's somethin' there that's related ta Blue's kidnappin' an' I can't shake this feelin' that what ever is there it's gonna determine th' outcome of th' war." The silver mech responded as he pushed himself up from the couch and began pacing back and forth "I'm gonna look through th' archives an' see if I can find anythin' that might shed light on this."

Prowl pulled himself up to his full height before moving to grip one of his bonded's upper arms, halting him in his tracks "Jazz are you really sure that's wise? The Ark's archives are incomplete in regards to the Prime dynasty and their projects."

The saboteur stepped in closer and cupped his mate's face with his hands, drawing his helm forward so their foreheads were touching "I know, but I have ta try, I gotta understand what's goin' on."

The tactician vented a small intake of air and shuttered his optics briefly "I understand." And he truly did, he had seen glimpses of the strange dreams whilst he had been recharging in the chair next to Jazz's berth, and although the brief flashes intrigued him they also worried him; after all the brief glimpses showed him the genocide of an entire planet that had looked very much like their own. The black and white mech had recognised in some of the flashes, a few of the distinguishing features such as the sun (although it had become a red giant when they had touched down upon the same planet), several of the buildings, bridges and even the large pyramid like structure in the centre of the city. Prowl and the rest of his team had suspected that the planet they had landed upon whilst chasing a possible Allspark signature, was almost Cybertronian in origin. But none of them had recognised any of the structures that laid in ruins and simply believed it to be one of the many lost colonies. However the tactician was beginning to suspect that maybe he should have investigated the ruins and the somewhat untouched pyramid a little more closely, but a sense of foreboding had prevented him from doing so. In fact the others had felt the same way too whilst trudging through dust and debris before they had requested that they leave; a surprise in itself since it was incredibly hard to spook the twins. But now he understood why he had felt anxious to get off that planet and knowing that they were heading back there was enough to send a shiver down his spinal strut.

"You're runnin' late love, ya should have been on duty ten minutes ago." Jazz lightly berated his bonded.

Prowl allowed a small chuckle of amusement to escape him as he brushed his nose against his spark-mate's "I know and I'm sure Optimus will forgive me this once."

"I don't know th' others might see it as a dereliction of duty an' wit' th' way they're actin' at th' mo, I can see thin's gettin' out of hand." The saboteur responded with a tinge of uncertainty laced in the tone of his voice, it was highly unusual for the silver mech to be concerned of what the others thought of him but with the second failed attempt to rescue their creation, the whole ordeal was leaving Jazz emotionally sensitive.

The tactician vented a deep intake of air out of his vents, he knew exactly what his bonded meant by that however as far as he was concerned the others could go and suck on their own exhaust fumes, he had tried his hardest only for it not to be good enough and therefore allowing his son to be moved out of their reach once again. None of them had expected (least of all him) the hidden weapon that Megatron had unleashed upon the Ark, in fact they should have been grateful that they still had a ship and the Decepticon leader hadn't unleashed Driller to keep them at bay whilst they escaped from the moon. Prowl understood that the others regarded him as a sparkless drone, but in his profession he was required to distance himself from the mechs and femmes that he served with and sent into combat as any familiarity with any of them could potentially influence the outcome of any strategy he devised. It had been one of the many reasons why he had been so reluctant to even start a relationship with Jazz in the first place as he was worried he might unintentionally get the saboteur killed due to his emotional attachment to the silver mech, however Jazz was still here and despite how the others thought of him now, he was going to get Bluestreak back

"I suppose I should get going before they decide to send Ironhide down." The tactician murmured as he pulled away from the saboteur slightly, although he kept one clawed hand resting upon the back of his bonded's helm using the small contact as a conduit of comfort and reassurance.

A small smile graced the silver mech's lip components "Wouldn't want old 'Hide draggin' ya outta 'ere by one of ya sensory panels."

"No I don't." The black and white mech replied as he pulled away slightly and flicked his sensory panels in a challenge "just don't do anything too tiring, Ratchet has yet to release you onto light duty and I for one don't wish to receive an audioful from our resident medic."

Jazz cocked his finned helm to the side in an imitation of an eye roll at that "I don't plan ta, all I'm gonna do is go ta ma office an' do a little research."

"You actually remember where your office is?" Prowl inquired as he rose a single optic ridge as he regarded his spark-mate.

The saboteur swatted his bonded playfully on the arm prompting a chuckle to escape the black and white mech as he danced back out of the way "Yea ah do cheeky, now go on get 'fore they really send 'Hide down ta find ya."

"I'm going." The tactician told the silver mech as he moved back in briefly to deliver a swift kiss to his bonded's lip components before he slipped out of the room.

A small smile graced Jazz's lip components as he watched his spark-mate leave their quarters before it disappeared entirely as the doors slid shut, he felt his spark-mate's demeanour change entirely once he had left their quarters and the saboteur knew it was due to the same conflicted emotions about facing the others that he himself was feeling. The silver mech couldn't help the small twinge of anger as he moved across to the view port and folded his arms across his chest-plates, that he felt towards his comrades for believing that Prowl was simply a cold and sparkless drone just because he was trying to prevent any and all strategies he was devising from being emotionally influenced, he had seen the way the failure of not being able to rescue their creation had grieved his bonded and he be damned if he was going to allow any of them to use that against him.

But right now Jazz knew that he too needed to remain clear minded as the last thing they needed was a fractured crew; after all infighting would make them no better than the Decepticons, but the saboteur felt that they were acting just that little bit like their enemy by sending one of their own in with no infallible plan of being rescued, and his only source of ensuring his safety was a comrade he couldn't fully depend upon. The silver mech vented a deep intake of air out of his vents as he shuttered his optics and pressed a thumb against the top of his nasal ridge, he had run risky ops missions with low chances of success before, but this time it was completely different as they were expecting both a youngling that was still somewhat inexperienced and an ex-con whose loyalties were still questionable to pull this off without so much as getting caught and executed in the process. Jazz was beginning to wonder whether all of this was worth it, he had sacrificed a few sparks in the line of duty (although not intentionally) how was this any different? However he quickly chastised himself for even thinking along those lines as he gingerly made his way out of quarters and began heading towards his office, this was completely different compared to those times as there was simply more at stake here; the safety of an entire planet let alone the universe was at threat here.

The saboteur hoped that they would catch the Decepticons up soon so he could take his anger and frustration out upon the enemy before retrieving his son from Megatron's clutches. The saboteur wanted nothing more than to just plunge an energon blade into the Decepticon leader's chest and repay him in full for all of the misery and painstaking loss both he and his bonded had to endure for the past couple of weeks since the battle at Diego Garcia. Although Jazz had to admit that the last time he had gone up against Megatron, he had feared for his spark especially after his first engagement in over thousands of vorns had nearly ended in his termination. But a part of him demanded that he get retribution for the suffering his creation was having to endure for the sake of one mech's insatiable greed for power.

The silver mech vented a deep sigh out of his intakes when he finally reached his office, at least for a while he could lose himself in the research he had planned rather than dwell upon past events which would without a doubt send him spiralling down further into the depths of depression. Jazz entered the code for his office and stepped inside once the doors whooshed open, the saboteur quickly made his way around the desk and more or less collapsed into the chair. A part of him hesitated about searching for answers as to what was going on, but then there was also the issue of whether the Ark's data-base contained any files relating to the Prime dynasty, however deep down he knew he needed to do this as eventually the others needed to be told and their co-operation and trust gained before the upcoming battle that would certainly decide their fates. The silver mech sat forward and began tying different words into the search engine which would lead him to the information he required, in fact he became so engrossed in what he was doing that he didn't even notice the harsh buzzing of the door chime nor the doors sliding open.

"I want to know just exactly what the frag is going on?" Mirage demanded as he stormed into his superior's office startling Jazz out of his reverie, it was unusual for one to ever hear the spy use any form of profanity unless he was extremely upset or downright livid with someone.

The saboteur couldn't help but frown at his sub-ordinates behaviour "I don't understand."

"You know exactly what I'm talking about." Mirage responded as he pointed an accusing finger at his team leader, his normally calm and collected façade all but gone "why are you risking Bumblebee's life for some pointless endeavour?"

The saboteur couldn't help but look surprised at that, he knew the spy would catch on eventually about the back up plan which had been set in place, that was what made the blue and white mech such a brilliant intelligence agent. However the silver mech bristled at the comment about the mission being pointless; this was a question of Bluestreak's life and the future of their faction especially if what he was seeing in his dreams as of late was allowed to come to pass "this mission is far from pointless Mirage, Prowl knew as did th' rest of us that there was no way we could have won that last battle, ya saw th' weapon they pulled on th' Ark."

The spy clenched his fists by his sides "I know I was there, but to send Bumblebee in like you did, you might as well of signed his death warrant considering the fact that you paired him up with that two bit glitch Barricade."

Jazz's optics flashed in anger as he placed his hands upon the desk and leant forward on them "Who would ya have rather ah sent in then?"

"By all accounts I would have thought you'd would have sent me in, after all was I not trained for that kind of espionage, or did that escape you?" Mirage inquired bitterly "I'd rather it had been me than the youngling, you've placed an awful lot of responsibility upon his shoulder struts and I know Bumblebee is up to the task, but he will hesitate to kill Barricade should the glitch betray us and that mistake could get him killed."

"And that's th' reason why I didn't want ya on this mission 'Raj, I trust ya explicitly always have done but I needed a mech with a less biased view on 'Cade, an' since 'Bee wasn't around ta see what he did at Ky-Alexa, he'll be a little more reserved." The saboteur vented a sigh out of his intakes as he wearily collapsed into his chair and scrubbed a clawed hand over tired facial plates "ya probably think that ma processor needs examinin', but I trust 'Cade ta pull this off wit' 'Bee."

The spy's frown deepened, he knew there was more going on than meeting the optic; after all Jazz was not one to trust another lightly particularly a mech who had been a Decepticon up until a couple of months ago "Your right about that, I don't know what he's done to earn your trust however, after all was he not the one who nearly killed you and Blue several months back?"

"He swore an oath ta protect Bluestreak just like you an' th' twins did." The saboteur responded, he watched as a surprised look appeared upon his sub-ordinate's facial plates "oh c'mon 'Raj ya know Praxians have got this thin' goin' on in regards to protection protocols, I'm befuddled that it's such a surprise ta ya."

The spy collapsed into the other chair on the opposite side of the desk "Certainly explains his overly protective behaviour towards Bluestreak during the initial stages of when he was at the Diego Garcia base, but Jazz to assume that those same protection protocols will be enough for Barricade to keep Bumblebee out of trouble whilst they carry out this mission is …."

"Insane." The silver mech finished the blue and white mech's sentence.

"Beyond insane." Mirage replied.

"Ya tellin' me, thought I was gonna crash maself when Prowl was tryin' ta explain th' whole concept ta me durin' the early plannin' stages, he was convinced that 'Cade wouldn't harm 'Bee nor put him in any kind of danger." Jazz told him as he leant back in his seat whilst his azure gaze fixed upon a spot on the desk.

The spy couldn't help but look surprised at that "Prowl is not one to trust lightly when it comes to a mech who have changed their affiliation, I'm even more surprised that he would trust Barricade enough to pull this off, it seems . . . ."

"Out of character?" The saboteur offered as he glanced at his sub-ordinate "I guess th' strength of familial bonds is hard to ignore."

"It appears so." Mirage replied as he slouched in the chair he was sitting in "I just wish you had sent me in Bumblebee's place, I do not want to have to explain to Sam should we return to Earth how his guardian was killed."

Jazz began tracing imaginary circles upon the polished surface of his desk "I know mech an' ah hope it won't come ta that, just gotta have a lil faith." That was one thing none of them had discussed since they begun this venture into space, the saboteur presumed that the others already expected they would return to Earth once this was all over, although Jazz wasn't sure whether they would or not; after all they had brought their long age war to Earth and it seemed unfair to continue waging their battles there. But several of them had formed friendships with the humans, they had even become a part of their families, however they all knew that if they didn't return to Earth, Megatron would without a doubt return there just to wipe out the humans out of existence.

"I think we'll have to have a little more than faith Jazz especially when the time comes and you have to explain this whole fiasco to the others." Mirage spoke up which drew the saboteur out of his musings.

"I'll cross that space bridge when it comes ta it." The silver mech responded as he traced a faint scratch in the surface of the desk before meeting his sub-ordinate's gaze "don't suppose you have a few breems ta spare?"

The spy shot his superior a confused look "I'm not due for duty for another three hours at best, why?"

"I could use some help wit' a lil bit of research." Jazz told him.

"Research?" The blue and white mech inquired as he made his way round to the other side of the desk, immediately his gaze landed upon the screen in front of him and both his optic ridges rose upwards "you're looking into the Prime dynasty?"

"I was hopin' there might be answers in th' data-base that could give us clues as ta what Megatron's after on this planet we're headin' too." The saboteur responded, he decided that Mirage didn't need to know about what he had seen during his recharge cycles; at least not yet anyway.

The spy glanced at his team leader "Are we even certain that he's heading there?"

"I'm more than certain, I saw th' co-ordinates in this device that without a doubt Starscream managed ta open somehow." The silver mech told him "an' they matched th' same ones we have in our data-base."

The blue and white mech couldn't help but look surprised "They did?"

"Yea mech, in fact you've been there once." Jazz replied before he began tying in a few commands and drawing up the files pertaining to the planet that was shrouded in mystery. The saboteur glanced up at his sub-ordinate and noticed the look of recognition appear upon Mirage's facial plates.

"I remember that planet clearly, it's architecture at least what was left of it was similar but so entirely different at the same time, I remember that it even unnerved the twins to the point they refused to stay planet-side." The spy told him before it suddenly dawned upon him, although he pondered how exactly Jazz knew so much "you think that inhabitants demise might be located within the old archives stored aboard this ship?"

The saboteur vented a deep sigh out of his intakes "Quite possibly, I know th' Primes documented everythin' that was significant an' I recall Alpha Trion downloadin' those files into th' ship's data-base." The silver mech noticed the suspicious look upon his sub-ordinate's facial plates "I was there on th' bridge before take off when Alpha Trion came on board."

Mirage rose a single optic ridge as he regarded his team leader "Let me guess you stuck your olfactory sensor where it didn't belong."

"As if it was that easy, he encrypted the files so only Optimus could open them." Jazz told him.

"And you want my help in breaking into them?" The spy inquired, not sure whether he wanted to join the saboteur in this endeavour; after all there was just some things that were better off being left undiscovered.

"I do." The silver mech responded "but I can easily do this on ma own, but siftin' through th' data could take a while, an' I'd rather have answers just in case we catch up wit' th' 'cons ..."

"Alright you have it." The blue and white mech interrupted his team leader, he immediately noticed the smirk appearing upon Jazz's lip components before the saboteur turned to the screen. Mirage vented a deep sigh out of his intakes as he moved to the other side of the desk and dragged the spare chair round to the other side, he plonked his backside into it and activated a small keypad on his superior's desk. Within seconds plates shifted apart to reveal a second keyboard before a holo-screen frizzled into life above it.

The saboteur met the spy's gaze briefly "Alright let's get to work." He uttered before the pair of them delved into the ship's archives and the files that had been locked away for far too long.

* * *

**Nemesis ….**

Bumblebee was positively nervous as he made his way through the dark inter-connecting corridors of the Nemesis, although he tried to implement as much as his special ops training as possible to keep the bubbling anxiety at bay. So far he hadn't met any Decepticon officers which on one servo was a relief whilst on the other he knew that the shielding device that special ops commonly used to dampen their spark signatures but had been modified, had to be tested against 'cons other than drones and lower grunts who really didn't take that much notice of him. The scout now apart of the repair and maintenance crew had already been in engineering where he had to repair the damage created during the time he, Mirage and Barricade had been there, although the shock trooper had easily covered their tracks and reported that the 'glitches' would be fixed soon enough. Bumblebee vented a small sigh through his intakes, Mirage simply had no idea of the plan that had been set in place and wondered whether the spy had figured out the ruse yet as Jazz was never one to leave a team-mate behind no matter the circumstances. The scout knew, as he passed through the inter-connecting corridors, that once all the pieces came together, there would be trouble in the special ops ranks. Bumblebee had during his time on the team, overheard several nasty arguments between Jazz and Mirage, a few in fact which had escalated into fist fights that he and Hound often had to break up. Yet despite their arguments, the pair of them would risk life or limb for one another and their team-mates, something he knew would grate on the spy until he decided enough was enough and confronted the saboteur over it.

Bumblebee had to admit he had been surprised by the shocking revelation that his superiors had ordered Barricade to remain aboard the Nemesis if things went pear shaped as that required a large amount of trust to be placed upon the shock trooper, although he wasn't too sure about the whole ruse of the black and white mech returning to his faction by shooting him to make it look real and was willing to hold a grudge against them for that.

_'But Jazz always has his reasons.' _Bumblebee told himself as he continued through the inter-connecting hallways, he couldn't help but feel anxious every time he passed by a Decepticon, he preyed to Primus that the small circular device would continue working especially since it had been tinkered by Wheeljack and the engineer didn't exactly have a great track record when it came to devices he had modified. Either way it seemed to be working just fine as he stepped past Sideways who growled at him, typical Decepticon behaviour he had been told by Barricade after the first time it had happened, the shock trooper informed him that when a grunt crossed paths with Megatron's elite, the warriors had this tendency to show the lower ranks just who was in charge. The scout waited until the silver Decepticon had disappeared around the corner before venting a shaky intake of air he had been holding, it was rare that he ever questioned any kind of device Jazz had commissioned for the op that was to be undertaken, however it was his life that was at risk if something should go wrong. It was also unlike him to be anxious about infiltrating a Decepticon stronghold since he had carried out several ops like this one back on Cybertron, but there was a power here; one that both frightened yet intrigued the yellow mech.

Bumblebee continued walking toward Starscream's lab where Bluestreak had been kept according to Mirage's Intel. his real purpose there was to gather any information that he possibly could and compile it into a portfolio that they would send through a quick data burst then pray that the Ark would pick it up. The scout continued through the inter-connecting corridors until finally he arrived at Starscream's lab, Bumblebee quickly glanced around to make sure no-one was within sight before he stepped towards the large doors. Using Surestep's access code Bumblebee entered Starscream's lab, the room beyond the two rather imposing doors was dark and the scout could smell the distinct tang of plasma discharge and acrid smoke as he stepped cautiously inside. The lights flickered and dimmed before rebooting fully revealing the damage that had been dealt to the walls, ceiling and floor, the scout scanned the lab before his gaze fell upon a faint golden light somewhere towards the back of the room.

A curious warble escaped Bumblebee as he picked his way across the debris strewn floor, the scout moved aside pieces of equipment that had been damaged in the fighting to reveal a strange artefact lying upon the floor. Bumblebee cautiously picked the device up and inspected the gold cube, he could feel a strange ancient energy much like the Allspark surrounding it and briefly pondered if it was related to the now destroyed cube, and if so what had been it's function? Either way he would never find out as he was neither a historian nor an archivist, that and he also knew there was no-one who could possibly tell him what it had been used for. However there was a sense of familiarity with the device he was holding which compelled him to tap out a sequence upon the golden surface of the cube, he jumped slightly when a hiss escaped from a hidden seam and the device opened up. The scout could feel his spark pulse wildly in its chamber as a small orange, transparent holographic orb appeared in the centre swiftly followed by symbols he knew had to be written in the language of the Primes.

However what seemed more strange to him was that he could actually read the symbols that were rotating in a slow circle, how that was possible? He had no idea, but either way he knew it provided him, and as reluctantly as he was to admit, Barricade an advantage. Bumblebee translated the symbols as co-ordinates, as to what he wasn't sure however none the less he made a copy and stored them so they could be included in a data stream back to the Ark. The scout briefly pondered what other secrets the small cube contained and since he now knew how to access and read the symbols he began tapping out another sequence upon the outside of the device, immediately the small transparent holographic orb changed to a blue colour followed swiftly by a network of galaxies with a single dot in the middle of them. A small frown made its way onto Bumblebee's facial plates at that, it seemed that there were dozen or more co-ordinates stored inside of this device, as to why he didn't know, but he couldn't help the sense of dread that settled in his fuel tank at the thought there was something far more sinister going on.

So preoccupied with the device sitting within his servos, Bumblebee failed to hear the doors hiss open nor the sound of footsteps approaching until it was too late. A clawed hand wrapped itself around his wrist tearing it away from the device and turning him harshly round to face the one Decepticon the scout hoped never to meet up close and personal, the small mech's azure gaze met the single glowing crimson optic glowering down at him.

"Care to explain what you're doing here?"

* * *

_**A/N:** Look cliffhanger! *runs away* Can't promise when the next update will be as RL is so busy right now, but I'll try my best!_


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